The Next Life
by Kaimaler
Summary: A human cruiser; Corsair Escion, crash lands on Cybertron, the homeworld of mechanical beings. The Captain saved the crew while sacrificing herself, or so she had thought. Time grows short as the Captain fears she will never survive to see home again. Rated M for violence and language, nothing explicit!
1. Corsair Escion

_**The Next Life.**_

_By Kaimaler._

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_AN: **READ THIS FIRST**. Duh._

_This story will NOT take place in a known Transformers universe, I generated it myself. I didn't change much, but what I did I hope you enjoy reading.  
FIRST THINGS FIRST, to avoid confusion: Humans and Cybertronians are the same average height. (some taller some shorter, randomizes, etc.)_

_Things have changed, there will be character/time/plot inspiration from the "All Hail Megatron" series, the original Generation One show, as well as the most recent movies. My mind works like a time bomb, so at any moment, something might come out and stun you, either you like it or not, doesn't matter right now, this is just a beginning._

_So read and enjoy, or bitch about how "inaccurate" it is to Cybertron itself after I told you I made this AU myself with not many, but still some, changes. If you want to suggest certain ideas for this AU, GO AHEAD. Just say "Hey, how about this character?" or "What about this city?" BECAUSE... I don't know many Cybertronian locations/characters that only were on Cybertron/ etc., and can only go on what I can and have found online at the Transformers Teleraan wiki._

_**SECONDLY!  
**All review replies will be posted here! Author's notes will be nearly non-existant in this story, the only time it will be used is in the case that a question MUST be answered! About the plot, characters, universe, etc. etc._

_So read, review. Replies will be posted right here!_

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Red lights flashed, alerting all aboard the space cruiser it had been irreparably damaged from the blast. Crewmen scrambled, tightening their life support suits and continuing on the emergency protocol.

The Captain always wore her suit; all she needed to do was lock in her helmet and open her visor. Forcing her way through the trained crewmen and women, the Captain stormed to the cockpit while her pilots retargeted unnecessary programs to life support, hoping to keep the cruiser in one piece as long as possible, giving the crew enough time to attempt to rescue the ship.

"Do we need it?" The junior pilot asked his mentor. "No, we don't redirect its power to the shields. They're rounding and preparing for another attack."

The Captain gripped the senior pilot's seat tightly as the pilot's computer read the energy discharge. "Hold on, this is going to hurt."

Outside the ship, two smaller fighters dropped bombs, causing the cruiser to suffer and be forced away. Tilting the ship, everyone inside felt it as the artificial gravity stabilizer snapped under the pressure, sending the crew flying into nearby walls, tables, and the ceiling. The fighters simply flew away, charging their negative pulse bombs as the cruiser whined and groaned.

"Can we direct power to the engine?" The Captain asked, getting a growl from the senior pilot. "Love to Captain, but this is all we got. We have two options; redirect power to the escape pods and abandon ship, or keep it on our shields and pray to your personal God that they just get bored and fly off."

Sighing, the Captain closed her visor. "Tell the crew to assume evacuation procedures. After their next shots, get the escape pods running and get aboard one yourselves."

"Aye aye, Captain." The senior pilot nodded, preparing the holoboard for the blast.

The Captain turned around, heading back down the cockpit shaft into the War room just as the pilot began the onboard safety system.

In the War room, the Corsair's personal A.I. stood, speaking through the intercom to take evacuation measures. "Hye Kwan." The android responded by looking in the Captain's direction and nodding, "How can I help Captain?"

"Store yourself in the safe room. Lock all the doors, convert part of the ship's power to keeping you in sleep mode." The Captain saluted the A.I. as she did in return. "Goodbye Captain, I shall await your rescue." She disappeared; the A.I. was on her way to the safe room, turned off. Her sleep mode would last several months depending on the quality and level of power received before set on stand by.

"_Blast incoming!_" The pilot's voice rang over the intercoms. "_Hold on tight!_"

Without time, the blast tore through the ship's hull, ripping a gaping hole straight through the armor. "_Captain! Our power reserves are only able to fuel half the escape pods! It's not enough to hold the entire crew._" The Captain's comlink screamed in her ears, the interference was jamming the signals. "Then it's going to be a tight fit. Get in a pod now!"

Without a word, the pilot pulled the junior's out of their seats and shoved them down the corridors. "Move, move! You heard the Captain!"

Turning around, the senior pilot and his rookies appeared. "Captain." He let the junior's rush to the escape pods without him. "When I said the escape pods wouldn't hold the entire crew, I already calculated how many we could fit into a pod without depleting the life support." The Captain cursed internally, she knew her pilot was always right, this time, she sincerely wished he was wrong.

"Fine." She sighed, licking her dry lips. Like adrenalin during battle, the reality of her situation finally hit home. All around her, her ship of over a decade of command was falling apart in front of her, along with her loyal crew. The wall panels were melting on the ends, welding came undone, sparks flew from the holographic computer panels, and even Hye Kwan was locked away for safety.

All other crew members were already nearing the escape pods if not already there. Some would have to go down with the ship. Friends, family, living people who were waiting until shore leave to visit home again, after so long in space, it was gut wrenching for her to think that she would have to tell her very own crew, her makeshift dysfunctional family, that some would have to volunteer to go down with the ship.

She already knew one volunteer.

"We have to hurry and tell the crew." The Captain swallowed the lump growing ever more in her throat. She was the Captain and it was her duty. "Come on."

She had to ignore the crew members that had already fallen from the blasts, the painful sounds of her old ship crying in pain, and her military school friend running along side her suffering the same agonizing thought she was. Both knew each other well enough to know they already volunteered the moment they spoke.

Suddenly, she felt like she was back in that same space training class. The simulations felt real enough to get her blood pumping. Her first few tries were terrible, all ending in either her death, the crews death, or both. It took her months to find a way past it all, to save the crew, not herself. It was a test in bravery and honor, one all rookies had to learn before ever being allowed the chance to become a Captain, or even Lieutenant.

Sacrifice yourself for the greater good. Or just because it becomes your duty when you assume the position as the leader of a vessel. The crew was a majority; they would go on, try to become a Captain themselves, or something akin to it.

There was the door to the escape pods and in a line just outside was the entire crew. All collected due to their training. The Pilot and the Captain looked back to each other, this was her job. In attempt to turn a table into a soapbox, she caught the attention of the crew.

Each one was silenced as their Captain stood high, to the more experienced members, it was all too easy to read her face; one of sadness and bravery. She sighed, she faced what often made or broke a Captain, and she wouldn't let it happen to her at the price of her crew, the very people who relied on her to survive.

"It is with a heavy heart that I..." She gulped, the crew's faces already drained of all hope with those few words. "I inform you that there is not enough power to launch all the crew members aboard. This is a vessel of one hundred and twenty crew members, not including myself and our senior pilot." The crew murmured, whispers passed as crew members discussed privately their concerns.

"I, as your Captain, will go down with the ship. I will try to buy you all some time to guide the shuttles back to military space. While our enemies target those aboard our ship, those who flee will have time to reach guarded military space. I will not force this decision on my personnel, you are all my crewmates, but I ask you choose quickly, our power level is draining and the enemy will resume their attacks." The pilot looked up to her, clenching his teeth, they waited as crew members slowly took a step forth.

"Senior Navigator Charles Estep." He announced himself, first to step forward. "I would rather go down with Corsair Escion and you, my Captain."

Motivated, crew members began either stepping forward, or raising their hands. Each and everyone saying their occupation and name before the Captain accepted them. By the time the volunteering had came to an end, more then half of the crew stood forth, presenting themselves. Just about everyone was a senior, expert, or simply a war veteran by the time the Captain had counted them out. Seventy-eight percent of the crew stood ready to die.

It was a courageous act, she was regretful and yet proud that so many of her crew would offer up their lives in this situation.

"We require a base minimum of sixty-five volunteers and though your willingness to sacrifice yourself for the many is noble, I will ask thirteen volunteers to retract themselves."

Quickly, some people pulled back volunteers, a sister pulled back her brother, a son pulled back his father, and finally, the crew could escape. With the right count, the crew members began boarding the escape pods, waiting to launch.

The Captain separated the two groups, the volunteers followed behind her as they all rushed back to the bridge. "At emergency protocol N007B!" The volunteers split off, all working on the guidance computers, the support systems, or working in the co-pilot seats.

The senior pilot took his seat, the Captain once more behind him. "They're rounding back... But their pulse charges aren't armed. They're going to shoot us down. Bastards." He glared at the screen, trying to work the Corsair's systems.

"What do we have?" The Captain asked, watching closely as the pilot skimmed over dead generators and optional force. "Nothing. At all. We can steer, we have some offensive power, our magnetic cannon is out... but our gravity beam is still on full power." He grinned, "It works off a totally different form of energy; a heavy duty condensed gas compound so we may be able to prolong their attack enough for the pods to get away, or buy us enough time to figure out how exactly we want to die."

"Activate gravity beam and close off the bridge with airtight locks, then find out what we want to do with our guests." The pilot took to it, the computer displayed a scene of outer space, the ships coming closer just as the pilot aimed and activated the gravity beam, catching the two considerably smaller fighters motionless.

"Alright, they should be able to deactivate it in five minutes, so think fast." The pilot warned, doing all he could to keep the beam running. "Bring up a visual around us." The pilot nodded, changing the screen to multiple external views of around the ship.

"There. See it?" The Captain pointed on the screen, "Yeah, it's a... planet. Captain we don't have enough control over this ship as it is, much less enter a planet's atmosphere without ripping Corsair to shreds. We'll be thrown out of the ship before we hit ground, not to sound judgmental, but I don't want to die watching the ground coming at me, I'd much rather be blown up." He grinned, the Captain sighed in reply.

"We have no other choice; it'll force them to land to investigate the area, giving the escape pods enough time to reach UN military space."

The pilot slowed, watching the screen as the planet grew larger and larger as the ship approached at a crawl. "Alright..." He ground his teeth, he wasn't afraid of dying, there were many cases where death was a higher probability then survival and he faced it bravely, willing to die for his crewmates, but going down, vacuumed out of his ship to watch as he plummets toward his death, he'd still do it, no questions asked, though it isn't his preferred way to die.

"Bring us close, don't loose the targets." The Captain watched as the enemies engines began rotating once more, roaring at their hindrance. "When I give the signal, deactivate the gravity beam and put the pedal to the metal, we're going to need to move; fast."

"Our highest speed possible won't take us to the planet. It'll just put us in orbit around it." He answered; flashing concern came over his Captain's face. When she had an idea, she wasn't one to hide it, that the entire crew learned the hard way. "Then put us in orbit, the blast from their next attack should force us through the atmospheric barrier."

"Or we'll be blown into oblivion. Y'know what? I actually okay with those odds."

Corsair sped up, flying as fast as she could with all the damage that had been done. Her ship, her crew, was in pain, barely limping along as they began to close in on the strange grey planet. "Break the gravity beam!"

The pilot nearly jumped at the order and just as the beam went down, the ships took off. Gaining their distance so their target couldn't try to pull them in again.

Just as the planet began to truly come into view, the duo in the cockpit turned attention from their offenders to the metal planet below. "Holy shit." The pilot looked on to the planet, "The hell?" The Captain narrowed her eyes. "Am I seeing this right?"

"Perfectly, Captain. There's nothing wrong with our holographic generators." He said, all the while staring into the planet's core.

This planet appeared manufactured, as if it was built as a city in space. There were cities built upon asteroids or moons, even some with their own orbit pull in space without an organic rock base, but this odd metal looking planet had a golden warm glow from the core between what they could see as buildings.

"Let me get a closer look..." The pilot licked his lips in anticipation; the oddity of this unknown world was putting him on the edge of his seat. Yet as the enlargement of the planet came, it appeared interestingly abandoned. The Captain felt a foreboding presence, something unseen and fearsome, but as they examined the surface of the planet, nothing appeared. No life, only lights that were clearly dying out, buildings rusted and destroyed, some tipping while most remained tall.

It was clear, whatever become of the residents of this unknown planet had been wiped out not to long ago, by a force unseen and very possibly still present.

"The fuck is this place?" The pilot stared with wide eyes constantly flicking from side to side, determined to find some glint of life.

"Where are we?" The Captain gaped in awe, never in her years of service, traveling to worlds uncharted, species unseen, and unmapped vastness of space had she seen a space city built in place of a planet, not on this scale. It was utterly remarkable; it was too bad she couldn't report this sighting to her superiors or the archives.

"We are on the edge of the Void ma'am; it seems that this planet has never been on record, much less has anyone actually been in this area since the great Void Barrier Project."

Leaning forward as the planet drew closer, the Captain noticed smaller lights, indicating this world was still active. "We've hit the planet's orbit; we don't have enough to push through the No-Go layer." A rookie term, oddly mentioned in this case. "No-Go layers" were the separation from oxygen, o-zone layer, and space, there was a natural shield planet's produced that protected the circle of life on the planet from shifting, nicknamed since rookies had a hard time, and often failed, breaking it. Which led the Captain and her pilot to believe that this was no built city, it was a planet and over generations became a metropolis.

"Here they come!" He announced, watching the ships turn around and come full speed back for an attack.

Her blood pounded; suddenly it was as if it couldn't happen fast enough, what crew was aboard could hear past the Corsair's sparking just to hear the last pulses dropped.

Suddenly the ship jerked aside, without resistance to the blast, Corsair was shoved aside harshly and directly into the planet's atmosphere. "Breaking the No-Go! Everyone strap yourselves in!"

The shocking push from the ship threw the Captain off balance, knocking her to the floor. The pilot was worried she wouldn't get to her seat in time. With the armor plates tearing off and obvious sounds of the crew in the War room be tossed around. Nothing about the fear of death could be done, they volunteered, and if asked would they do it again, they would in a heartbeat.

"Captain!" The pilot shouted over the blaring sirens of the ship's emergency systems and the ear-splitting sounds of crew members screaming and Corsair falling to her, and her crew's, death. Deep pitched rumbled shook Corsair, tossing her crew about like ragdolls as they attempted to buckle themselves in for the ride.

The pilot couldn't care less about Corsair, where he earned his title, compared to the safety of his Captain. "Captain! Come on, you can make it!" He yelled, turning in his seat to see his Captain struggling to stand.

Then, time slowed down for the Captain of the Corsair. It was a strange thing to know she was going to die, enter the blackness without a thought, without a dream, no chance of life ever again. The had faced what most claim _certain death_ situations, but she always saw them as _near death_ situations, she fought her way to freedom, leaving a trail of bodies behind her. Her companions were most thankful they had a stubborn Captain, they owed her their lives more time then they could count.

For now, though, it seemed that the Captain's hardheadedness was the only thing saving them. She was going down with the ship, the Corsair slowly dying as she fell, the ground seemed far away from the observation windows in the cockpit and she felt she may never reach the ground at this speed.

Holding on as tightly as she could, she pulled herself closer and closer to the seat, hoping to buckle in before crashing. Living through a crash of this magnitude was impossible, the impact would kill her, if not, the explosion of metal, heat, energy, and fuel would, no doubt what materials on the surface of the uncharted world would collide, spark a flame, overheat the systems and blow the Corsair that way.

Yet, the option was there. The seat, the safety of the buckle, and the promise of a steady fall rather then the beating she sustained from being thrown viciously across the cockpit.

What would it matter? Death was creeping up slowly as the Corsair's internal cooling finally snapped and the flame bursting outside from the penetration of the planet's No-Go was melting the metal externally and internally. She could feel her armor burning into her skin, searing her skin as her oxygen helmet's HUD warned her of the life threatening conditions.

It was all overwhelming. She had sentenced part of her crew to death, some already killed from the blasts and the heat. She cared not for the ship as much as her pilot did, but she felt guilt at the end as she predicted. After alerting the crew at the escape pods, never telling them her plan, and then finally bringing them down into a painful, burning death. Guilt was the only way she could say honestly that she was a good Captain until the very end of her dangerous life.

As she raised her head, only having a split second, the protective barrier burst, sending shards of glass straight towards them. Ducking, the Captain dodged some, other cracked on impact against her suit. Some pierced her armor's weaknesses, slicing deep into her already suffering body.

Before she could regain herself, the pressure and gravity systems burned out. The pilot, strapped in, was holding onto the controls as if his piloting skills would save them somehow.

The Captain, however, was not secured. Just as the gravity pull finally reached empty, the Captain felt as though she were flying. She felt it before, falling involuntarily. Quickly reacting, she grasped the closest makeshift handle she could, latching onto it. As she held onto it for dear life, the pilot opened his eyes, spotting his long time Captain slipping from the hold she had on the ruined computer.

With a glance, the Captain caught her pilot's eyes. Half a second passed as the two shared their last moment. The meaning of their expressions, their unexplainable calmness was unmatched. With only a catch of his eyes, the Captain spoke to him about their lives, the lives they spent together, and the times most meaningful to the two.

Then, it was over. She lost what little grip she had as was vacuumed out of the cockpit. The pilot didn't call for her, nothing he could do would bring her back, only faith that in the end, they would meet again.

As the Captain fell, her suit's HUD went haywire, the compass lost track of itself and flashed errors into her helmet's display. Righting herself, she saw instantly as a metal bar came her way. Shocked, she bashed into the already damaged metal. It bended under the stress, slamming into what the Captain could see as a skyscraper. It collided with the side of the abandoned tower, sending her straight into the broken window.

All she saw was metal, rust, blood, and ruble as her body met a solid object, then there was nothing.

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_**Errrrrk! Stop right there!** Review replies will be posted at the top! :)_


	2. Trajectory

_**The Next Life.**_

_By Kaimaler._

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_**Review Replies:**_

**__****Teddy-wabbitz:**_ Well, I'm glad you think so. Hopefully as time goes on the complexity of the story doesn't scare away readers and whatnot. :P  
Sometimes, I make no sense, even to myself._

_**Carmilla DeWinter:** Why thank you, I'm never satisfied with my work (drawing or writing) so I figure that's why I'm always trying to advance and make what little skill I have better. :)  
Two things before you continue to this second chapter.  
One, I just want to get this out of the way; I love your name. Carmilla DeWinter, it's sounds awesome. There, I said it.  
And two, I've heard from various people that this story is an idea everyone had, but no one wrote. So... YAY! I beat them to the punch! Woot! :)_

_**Sirastar:** I'm hearing that an awful lot. I hope this can live up to expectations since it is a rather detailed story line. I'll be introducing drama in the next chapter, I'm not going to say who, but a very recognizable Cybertronian will appear. :)  
I hope you enjoy it and remember! I will have to invent cities for this story since there isn't many named in the Transformers Universe that could be used, so I hope that's okay. :3_

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Slowly, she could hear her breathing, hitched and pained, then feeling returned in her body. She could also feel the damage done to her body. She felt glass splintering through her suit from when the observation window shattered. In addition, she just now noticed a large metal beam had dropped on her, probably after she left consciousness.

In fact, there were a few things around her. Bits of metal, debre and rubble, that same beam, and what appeared to be parts from the Corsair. There was a few bits of metal from the bow, then there was equipment, a few life preservers, and mechanic's tools. Damn that cooky mechanic for never putting them up.

She didn't feel like she had enough stength left to push the beam off of her nor slide from under it. Thankfully, it wasn't heavy, it was a hollowed out scaffolding beam that was roughly the thickness of her waist.

Though, she felt that was a problem. Loosing the ability to lift a beam that was barely her size and hollow? No, she had to move. She picked herself up from crashing a a shuttle straight into the side of a burning volcano, was it not for her and her inane ability to survive, she and the crew members with her surely would've died. Yet situations where death came into the equasion was not uncommon, it was all in a day's work.

As normal life went, Corsair Escion's crew was everything but boring. So now, while no enemies searched for her crash zone, no natural disaster threatened to sweep her away, and their certainly wasn't any government offical's breathing down her neck to make sure she does it _their way_.

If she couldn't get up now, if she couldn't throw this beam off of herself and shove the debre that had fallen on her off, then she might as well be dead. With a vigorous push while painfully listening to the sound of glass shards snapping on the ground and in her wounds, the beam was lifted and tossed aside with ease.

Stifling a scream, she lifted herself upright, arms shaking in tiredness. She groaned, pain seered through her veins beckoning her to lay back down and die.

As far as she could tell the only real injuries she received from her death-defying crash is a broken rib and a dislocated arm, which was quickly becoming a distubing factor in her life.

Favoring her right arm, she forced herself to stand, though failing and dropping to her knees in the process. It was excess pain, for what she had fallen she should be thanking whatever being that she was still alive and breathing. Of course, logic dictated that after the gravity stablizer's overloaded that the only thing that really caused her so much momentum in her fall was the suction of the observation glass breaking.

It wasn't luck that saved her, the Corsair was just one tough ship. She hadn't fallen far, she didn't even have time to right herself, that told her she couldn't have fallen far and after smacking into the massive bar it wasn't a real surprise she was alive. The bar stopped the force at which she was falling, at the time, it wasn't much, given another second or two, she would have died the moment she collided with the bar.

For now, her greatest concern was her left arm. It was dislocated, not a word she wanted to use in a situation like her current one, but one way or another, she would have to right it.

Inwardly thanking she was lefthanded, she gripped her right arm, it wasn't uncommon for an experienced soldier to know how to relocated their own arm. Leg's were a different story and usually required more then one person. Yet the newest advancements in armorment allowed a suit to lock up when a soldier has no one else and no other choice then to do it themselves.

After setting her right shoulder pauldron to lock, she took her right arm again, felt the pauldron tighten, and took deep breaths. No matter how many times she had done it or had done it for a member of her crew, relocation, stitching, getting shot, or a mine going off nearby always hurt regardless of what live threatening dangers she had survived through, this always hurt.

She had braced herself, she knew she would scream just to relieve some of the pain through venting. With slow deep breaths she gripped tightly, the pauldron stiffened, and she forced her shoulder to snap back in place, the pauldron instantly releasing pressure as the shoulder was relocated. Her lungs filled with air before her body tightened and her vocal's stretched, if anyone was still on this seemly deserted planet, she was sure they could hear her pained cry for miles around.

The soundwaves knocked over some delicate debre before she stopped, her lungs gasping air back inside. She panted, her arm hurt, yes, but it didn't hurt as bad anymore. With her arm fixed, somewhat, she stood up, finally observing the area around her.

It was dark, not damp, but another sultry feeling came over her. She was right though, this strange manufactured planet was foreboding. It's aura screamed out to her to watch where she stepped, what she touched, and anybody she came across... if there was another soul stranded on this lifeless planet.

Walking was made no easier through the glass in her legs and back, so she limped over to a broken peice of wall, sat on the edge of the crack and lifted her leg to where it rested on the other knee.

Finally seeing the damage made the pain throb worse. She bared her teeth, licked her lips, and began pulling out the larger, jutting shards of glass. After that was done, she removed her boots, dropping all the shattered glass stuck inside onto the floor, then she started picking out the smaller peices, one by one, until a pile of glass formed on the floor in front of her.

Once all glass was removed from her legs and now uncovered arms, she applied her emergency medkit, using it's gel-like substance to cool and disinfect the cuts and gashes. Clean and feeling better, she wrapped up the harsher wounds with gauze and reattached her gauntlets and boots, until she was dressed once more.

She still felt glass in her back, but she got all she could and the smaller peices her suits automatic medical distribution would fix.

Now, it was time to explore. What she and her crew did best.

Around the room she crashed into was the bar she was thrown into just outside the great balcony. Inside, was the wall she woke up against, the scaffolding she apparently knocked over and onto herself and finally... nothing.

It was dark, like she observed before, but the odd thing was that there were no lights to speak of. No lamps, chandeliers, blue lights, neon, or even remnant's of a fire. This place gave off a feeling that it was never lit. Which may explain the scaffolding. It was an unfinished building, still being touched up whenever the residents all disappeared.

Of course, she had to walk to the balcony and find out what kind of building she found herself in now.

Her boots crushed the spiteful glass covered in blood as her gait improved without it. At the edge of the balcony, she found herself spying down a tower well over fifty storey's high. Her eyes widened, the metropolis looked tall, but she felt she was on Earth in New York after it was rebuilt block by block. The towers were amazingly high, beyond the clouds even. This sight wasn't inspiring though, it felt downright evil.

Taking a few cautious steps back, the ex-Captain of the Corsair turned and explored the space.

The empty halls with gun metal walls put her on edge as it was. She held her pistol out just for good measure and pointed it around every corner and possible hiding spot she came across.

Within an hour, she found an elevator still in working order. Unfortunately, the buttons were in a language she couldn't read and had to guess them all. On the bottom; down, bottom left; ground floor... She hoped.

The elevator screeched as it began its descent. At least she got the down button's right...

It stopped, screeching louder as it rocked. The doors barely slid open, catching every now and then until opening half way, just enough for her to squeeze through.

Another floor, closer to the ground thankfully, but not the ground floor. She could easily tell by looking out a window to her left. She could see the street, but it was at least another two storeys down.

Turning back to the elevator, she watched as the doors sparked and squealed. Stopping, she watched as the elevator rocked again, as if stuck, before leaving the floor completely and the highly audible sound of tons of metal smashing against a solid surface echoed up the elevator shaft.

Sighing, she walked to the window, her way down rested on what little climbing she had learned in her time out exploring planets. Luckily, she knew quite a bit, however, she lacked her tools and the correct gear, she was stuck in her armor and the building was smooth save for a few jutting plates of metal and ruble. That would have to do.

Taking a long scan over the side of the building, she cautiously put one foot over the end and braced it on a sturdy piece of metal plating. Taking it inch by inch, she managed to safely maneuver herself to the side of the building, slowly making her way down. At times, the broken ruble would fall and leave her hanging, but it was easy enough to pull herself back up and try again.

At last she reached the point she could safely jump down and land without a problem. With one goal out of the way, she had to get to her downed ship, wherever it may be.

The streets were not much different then the inside of the tower, dark, destroyed, and creaking. They gave her a cold shiver up her spine when a new noise rang into her earshot. There was, however, one main source of light and it came from within the planet. The soft warm glow came from below the endless streets, she felt she wasn't actually on ground, rather hundreds and hundreds of storeys above whatever ground there was supporting this metropolis.

She knew generally where her ship must have crashed but it was a vague direction. The tragectory must have hurtled her ship somewhere to her right, though it must have crashed through the streets and into the real ground beneath her. She wasn't sure if she was North, South, East, or West, she just knew what direction they were heading in; Northwest, and that is.

Best chance she had was to follow her instincts.

Walking for hours after suffering and surviving a crash was taking it's toll now that her adrenalin was wearing off and her suit began feeling heavier and heavier. It was time to find shelter.

Any of the buildings she had been passing would offer what she wanted, but she hoped she could a smaller, more covered shelter then sleeping in a large open space where if anything was on this strange planet it could find her easily. She wouldn't take any unneccesary risks.

Her street came to an end, it had at some point collapsed into a street that ran below it. Luckily, it was directly next to a tower, so the ruins created a makeshift hubble. Sliding down the metal street, she turned the edge of the street to see the accidental cavern it generated. With the street, the tower, and the rubble, only one side remained open, but that was just fine. It was an optimal spot, with a good view of the broken street.

Crawling into the small metal cave, she laid on her side facing the open street and attempted to rest her aching muscles.

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_**Errrrrk! Stop right there!** Review replies will be posted at the top! :)_


	3. Possible

_**The Next Life.**_

_By Kaimaler._

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_****__Alright, I want to say something about this chapter_**. **_It's not a "main chapter."_

_My catagories for chapter styles and importance are:_

_Required and Extremely Important: "Main Chapter's.": Prologue, Plot points, Plot twists, Character development, Epilogue._

_Required to move on with Story: "Directory Chapter's.": Moving the hero/heroine, Leading Chapter's to "Main Chapters", Location Markers._

_Required for Immersion: "Dramatic Chapter's.": Character death, Battle Chapters, Lone Chapters(main character alone), Life Threatening Situations._

_Required to Build Story: "History Chapter's.": Historic Points, Important moments in Protagonist's history, Important moments in any character's history, Experience Chapters._

_Required for Immersion: "Waring Chapter's.": Difference's between characters/protagonist/antagonist, severe arguement(some escalating to physical violence), and General Leadership Disagreements._

_Now, the first two chapters of "The Next Life" were "Main Chapter's", however, this is what I call a "Directory Chapter", a chapter required only to move onto more immersive and meaningful chapters. In other less fancy-like words; A slow, boring, less interesting chapter solely to continue on with the later more interesting topics._

_So, this chapter may be a bit... boring to some readers, but necessary to move on to more important matters. So, while this slow moving chapter hits my readers for the first time, I'd like to apologize for any lateness and I hope you enjoy regardless._

_**Review Replies:**_

**_Teddy-Wabbitz_**_:  
Oh dear! The horrible unadulterated shame!...  
Durp, you seem to always be my first reviewer when a new chapter comes out... Granted, only three chapters exist now, but it's meaningful to me! :')  
Anyways, Thanks Teddy, I love your reviews and I completely forgive your spelling mistake.  
God know I make them all the time and without Office Word, there would be _plenty_ more._

_**Carmilla DeWinter:  
**Har har, that's so true. I do find some ideas on this site that have good plot, but they're few and far between. Some I have listed on my favorites simply for guilty fangirlisim pleasure. Stupid, stupid, me right? :)  
Noooooo, no action, I can't... I just... can't.  
Glarg, no, there will be action, but not the "Jump INTO the LINE OF FIRE and barely CHEATING DEATH" kind of pointless, baseless, ridiculous battles. It will involve:_

"Get cover, moron!" She pulled her ally down roughly and as he landed on his back, she held him down with one hand, other still on the trigger. "Stay down, you're no good to me dead!"  
She glanced over her cover, having only a short time before she ducked back down as fire rained overhead, missing her by mere inches. She took a deep breath, stilling her racing heart as she waited for a break in the fire fight.  
Once she heard only echo's of gunfire stopped, she pulled the corner, just tapping the trigger for shorter more accurate shots just before taking cover, once more listening for her enemies to reload.  
She was pinned down, her ally was too incompetent to battle sensibly, either that or just inexperienced, either way, she had to get him up and on his feet if they were going to make it out alive."

_How's that? I just wrote it randomly right this second so it's unpolished, but nevertheless it's already better then some stuff I read around FF. Fight scenes are hard, all you can really do is make them sound realistic.  
_"Heart racing, blood pounding in her ears, she suffered wounds but adrenalin numbed the pain."  
_Things like that and whatnot. :)  
I also want to know if you can guess the Cybertronian that appeared here? The main Cybertronian that is... Er, you'll find out here in a bit. In your review, tell me your guess. The next chapter will release his name though... So think good and hard! :D_

_**Outlaw-Lanaya:**  
Glarg, I'm easily amused. See? Your username reminds me when I played "Red Dead Redemption" online, I had "Outlaw Kaimaler" as my temporary title, 'til it became "The Legend Kaimaler."_  
_Fun times._  
_Anyways, to your review! :3_  
Novel worthy! _Oh you're too kind! I read this and I HAD to work immediately on this chapter so I can get you excited about later developments. Like I said uptop, this is a rather uninteresting chapter, but it does introduce a Cybertronian smart enough to listen to the gal with the gun.  
Of course, you have to understand, they only met for seconds in this chapter, so him taking no action so far makes more sense then him attacking her right out the gate._

_**AotA:**  
__You want to know what I'm tired of? People depicting the human race in general as greedy, evil creatures only after sex, drugs, money, violence, and getting the upper hand on the innocent of the universe.  
__What if, we painted ourselves, our race in a brighter light then what every writer has done? Every FF, FP, and published author.  
There's a movie that does this; Artifical Intelligence. AI. It's about the future where A.I.'s exist and co-exist with humans. But in the future, the humans died when a massive new Ice Age engulfed the planet. But this main character, this A.I. boy was uncovered.  
The alien A.I. specifically said "We are all that is left of their brilliance."  
I want to incorporate that, that light side of human life to this story. I want humans to be shown for what the majority of us all are.  
We all want world peace, so eventually, we will strive and we'll get the closest we can to it and be satisfied.  
We'll want to move forward, medically, scientifically, and historically. My so far unnamed female protagonist of "The Next Life" will embody the values of life and art. She'll show that humans can be noble, brave, and still keep their hospitible side, which every person seems to think it's impossible._

* * *

She woke up; nothing caused it but hard sleep. She rested on metal and her synthetic armor; of course she expected sleep to be restless.

Sighing, she assessed her suit. HUD was operational still, it was built to survive over seven hundred pounds of pressure and keep internal pressure optimal, and so she wasn't surprised. As for the condition of her body suit, since the glass had severed various synthetic wiring and neural response fabric; the suit had tried to do its job and repair itself until a replacement or the user was available for repairing it, though now the damage was so much the HUD kept flashing a warning sign.

There was oxygen on this planet, however, it was low, far less then what an everyday human required just to live properly. She knew, breathing this low oxygen content, she would pass out and suffocate after four day's of exposure. She had to mend her suit, from her HUD clock, she had been on this manufactured planet for at least a day and a half, she crashed over twenty-four hours ago, exploring the area took some time, and finding this spot and sleeping took up the rest of that time.

She could feel her lungs weakness already. Without enough oxygen, the lungs had less to pump through themselves, but with her suit's helmet trying to produce more oxygen, she could survive longer then normal, but eventually she would reach a point where she could no longer breathe.

Reaching behind her, she unhooked her small pack, setting it on the ground and kneeling before it. She took out a kit, "Voc's Military Grade-Ax12 Mending Unit" was printed on the front as she unlatched the metal unit, taking out various supplies and ordering them beside the laid unit.

Removing her gauntlets, boots, chest armor and helmet, she began quick work. Cracks in the helmet's visor were irreparable, so instead she disconnected it, tossed it away before replacing it with a new, red visor, colored differently from her regular white tinted visor because of its purpose; to ensure its strength and durability since it was a replacement for the broken visor.

The HUD was unaffected by the change, all it did was take re-scripting to assess the new visor prerequisites before logging itself complete. The helmet and HUD was fine now, nothing threatened the air tight seal of the visor and entire helmet.

As for her gauntlets, all she needed to do was reinforce their neural fibers and close strained areas. It was simple, basic training. All soldier's, even military technicians were trained in repairing all armor damage and penetrations. It was fast and expertly done, and she set them aside, and then started the same treatment on her boots and greaves.

With the bulk done, the chest plates came next. The woven alloy created something of a challenge when harm came to the chest, stomach, and abdominal areas. The suit wasn't made of armor like the heavy soldier's used in exterminating large numbers of enemies or taking on other heavily armored soldiers and vehicles. It was like a second skin almost, but that was saved for special operatives, the Captain's was almost perfectly in between the long lasting blast resistant metal plating heavies wore and the silent, cloak of the assassins.

Voc's repair kits usually came with one emergency repair plating and multiple specialized tools designed to manually revive armor and the person within it. Luckily, the emergency chest plate replacement was not necessary; however, it would take careful work to successfully heal the synthetic armor without mistake.

Taking on the task at hand, the Captain lost track of time but kept her breathing thick. She took in as much oxygen as she could, holding it, and then releasing it all at once so as to keep herself fully awake and aware.

As she finished the final upgrades, she equipped her armor, locking it tightly in place before her HUD read full oxygen pressure. Sighing in relief, she placed everything back where it belonged then hooking it on her back.

Standing and stretching out, she continued on down the grey metal road.

As usual, nothing was notable except for that odd glow from below the streets and buildings. Whatever had the power to generate that golden light was certainly her only chance at finding life, if she even wanted to...

For now, her HUD operated and she could examine the local area much clearer with far more information. While her HUD scanned every possible building, mineral, and parasite, she kept on her path, hoping she was right in the direction of Corsair's crash site, with any luck, some signal's may still be operational with enough repairs and she can find some way to relay an emergency message.

With her current radio transmission and receiver operational again, she could keep her channel's open in case any crew member survived and needed aid. Also any previous "mayday" alert being burst to any radios local or far would actually help her find the Corsair Escion faster.

While surveying the radio frequencies, she walked on in the same direction she had hoped was the direction the Corsair was in. Lady Luck could kick in any time she wanted to now.

In fact, between the time she completed her suit repairs, started her radio, and took of after her ship, the Captain felt tense, a feeling that someone or something was near, around, possibly just the overall strangeness of the planet finally dawning upon her as being far beyond abnormal, or there was something in her vicinity.

However, her radar scanner came up empty, not even an energy signature of some kind of heat blast caused from the light in the planet's core.

After some time of this feeling, she got tired and took a break. Turning to her survival kit, she pulled out a small moisture collector, screwed open the top and refreshed herself, before slipping her helmet back on and putting the collector back in her condensed pack. She sat wide legged on a large metal shard, whatever it once was it was now unrecognizable.

It was more then obvious something sentient lived and thrived beyond her imagination for a supposedly green-less planet, it seemed many things impressed her as of late.

Being deemed a Captain after theirs had died, then given the prototype Corsair Escion; the ship that set off the factories to begin building Corsair model standard cruisers, her marriage, medals signifying her long service records as well as her actions in the old wars a decade ago. Things appeared good, for a while, and then enemies abounded after her and her crew. Nothing was as it appeared, if anything else, that was certainly what she learned through her travels.

Stopping, watching as her HUD reassessed her location, reading no life signs; sentient or not, she looked around herself. If this planet was like this, skyscrapers, streets, and all including the rubble, then there was a high chance if anything was left on this planet, it was fighters, soldiers, and warriors' defending what is left of their homes. She would have to be alert for these, or wildlife that outlived the sentient race that built the cities.

As far as she could tell, there was a natural disaster or the planet just couldn't sustain the obvious amount life there was on this planet. They may have evacuated centuries ago and they simply blended in with the rest of the humans in the galaxy. That was a possibility, but the home world logged every visitor, human or animal, and made sure everyone was comfortable, even creating a population limit.

If these people left for fear of destruction and death, seeking refuge on the home world Earth, or a main planet of any sort, then they would be specifically noted. That means, if they left, then they must have retreated to the less developed worlds, planet's like the home farming world Aegis, or the gardens and protected worlds like Wayfarer or even its many grassland moons.

The inhabitants were clearly unknown, so whoever they were, they were either forgotten or never even discovered.

As she traveled, she came across several odd sights. Some contained clear signs of previous life, once, not anymore, which disappointed her to an extent, but she ignored it and continued.

Resting yet again and taking a swig of water, she stood and walked again, she couldn't stop now for too long, and she would never make it to the Corsair crash site.

However, something intrigued her. The cityscape was disturbed, a large hold had been destroyed and as a human, her natural curiosity forced her to investigate further, especially considering the oddness of it all. The hole was created by a heated weapon, probably artillery that had blasted straight through the thick heavy metal wall.

As she approached, she read her HUD reading the external temperature which raised a few degrees the closer she got to it. Realizing that whatever caused it must have burrowed the wall in not too long before she had arrived.

Which meant something sentient which had already built heavy duty weaponry was still here.

Her HUD read an energy signature, though it was not alive, it was a unique hot spot on her radar she couldn't ignore. Preparing herself, she pulled out her assault rifle, holding it in front of her as she took cover behind the wall. She could feel its heat as her back pressed against the heated metal wall.

Mentally preparing herself, she turned the corner quickly, her eyes observing the room looking for the source of the energy signature.

There it was... A person!

Momentarily stuck in shock, she reacted quickly by aiming her rifle toward the unknown simultaneously wondering why this person had not appeared as a life sign on her HUD radar, yet she chose to push that aside until later, there may have been some residual damage done to her helmet she was not aware of.

"You, hands up!" She demanded, startling the armored being to jolting around, facing her. As she examined the individual, it was no question it was male and wearing some extremely heavy armoring, luckily, her weapons were fully upgraded, the best there was, so at the distance she was her shots would dent the armor, but not penetrate it. She would have to get closer without him realizing his advantage.

It was easy, she didn't take her eyes off the armored man as she approached, ensuring if he made an offensive move, her shot would injure, if not, kill.

"State your name." She ordered, finally comfortable with her stance and ensured damage range.

Once she was near however, she was confused, the armored man's face; it was metal, not only that, but even if he was wearing a helmet, that was a very... expressive. No mask or helmet had the ability to respond to the facial movements, either his armor was more advanced or... something she didn't understand. Perhaps he was an A.I.?

That was it, he was an A.I. system, his body was too abnormal to be a living creature as its figure was far to metallic, it made more sense that the person was not alive and it also explained why her radar didn't read a life sign.

Apparently, from the A.I.'s look, he was surprised at her, what for exactly, she had no idea. This wasn't the time to play an ally, she was on an unknown planet and the likelihood was that there were more of this A.I.'s allies then there were of her, it may be more beneficial for her to be an ally to them, but she knew nothing of them, tyrants or heroes, civilians or politicians. She had to be a potential enemy for safety's sake.

Since, from logic, this machine was an A.I., asking his name doesn't suffice. He wouldn't be able to answer correctly without stating everything in his title, position, and appearance. Stopping quickly, she rephrased. "Ignore that last order. What is your manufacturer's title?"

Just as before, the machine stared onward, acting as if she had not spoken at all. Usual procedures for an A.I. are to scan the opposer, tell if whatever she was doing was lethal then acting accordingly. However, if she shot his core functions, he'd be unresponsive and she could salvage from his data and memory banks on what he knows, which is undoubtedly more then her.

So, instead of treating him as a living person, aiming her rifle at his head, she lowered the weapon to the center of his chest, where a point blank shot from any weapon would pierce the outer protection shell and deactivate the core systems, thereby shutting down the android.

At this, he seemed to tense more then before, as most A.I.'s are programmed to do, respond when their system has been threatened.

"Answer me android, what is your manufacturer title?" She asked again, looking around his shell for any logos. So far, the only distinctive symbol was of a red block-like face on his shoulder.

This A.I. must have been an older model; perhaps his creator company no longer exists, so she may not recognize the logo. In any case; he still wasn't answering.

Her radar beeped quietly, picking up three more energy signatures, ones that perfectly match the android in front of her. She pointed her gun away from him, jerking it to a pile of rubble. "Get behind that, now!" She pushed him with the barrel of her rifle, seeming to get the point, the red and blue android backed up slowly until reaching the debris just large enough for the two of them to be hidden.

All androids, droids, robotics, Artificial Intelligence's, Virtual Intelligence's, and Synthetic Intelligence's all had a built in radar scanner, no doubt the three unknown assumed android's had already picked up the A.I.'s signal in front of her and with her knowledge of androids; her life signs as well.

"Are you military grade?" She whispered, he simply stared at her, glowing blue optics probably reading her every move and alerting other A.I.'s in the area about the threat.

"Dammit." She sighed, watching around the corner as two sharper, taller androids appeared by the giant hole. There were three, but only two were in sight, the third was apparently still outside the building.

They carried weapons, they were military androids, probably V.I.'s since most machines used in warfare were. Though, while the bulk of a machine based squad would be, the lead droid would be an A.I., so as to eliminate malfunctions and various other kinds of glitches military grade V.I.'s were notorious for.

As she expected, the third and final android appeared, just as large as the rest, walked in. This one was certainly and A.I. with the way he carried himself, confident and demanding. This one was a fine piece of robotic engineering, but in her situation, facing these four targets, including the red and blue A.I. at her side with her rifle pointed at him, was downright foolish.

Her experience in the field told her to note any and every mark they had. Like the strange A.I. beside her, they bore a symbol close to his, but not quite. With her HUD, she zoomed into the three by the blast hole. The logo they were marked with was purple with a more pointed ensign. Perhaps this A.I. beside her is a military grade unit and was posted on opposite sides to the three rather dangerous looking machines she scanned over now.

That would make perfect sense, or more then what she had thought of up to this point.

Somehow, as if their radar's didn't even exist, the three machines turned and left. All she heard were sounds of fighter engines taking off before eventually disappearing earshot.

"Alright, up." She grabbed the A.I.'s shoulder and pulled him in front of her. She was becoming more and more concerned about the machine in front of her as she continued her investigation.

It appeared the A.I. wasn't afraid, barely even concerned, just... stunned? It was like he was confused, his logic circuit's must be fried if he can't comprehend her position by now. All androids could when given enough time, it was simply a procedure they'd undergo when threatened by an unknown force.

He had not spoken therefore he was specifically programmed not to answer an enemy or a questionable target, especially one pointing a gun at his core systems. If she could connect her HUD computer to the A.I. unit in front of her, he could see her ranking and would possibly gain programmed permission to answer her.

Yet all she had was her personal connection and even then all it had on it was her official military ranking strip, as well as information about the Corsair and her crew. Nothing would actually prove, irrefutably that she was indeed high enough in rank and heroics to be allowed proper permission to access his databanks. It was a possibility that she would have to shut down the A.I. and extract them from his core.

That would do.

"Alright, since your programming refuses my entry, I'll just shut you down and take what I need." She raised her rifle from the A.I., who flinched and spoke.

But... what did he say? He spoke nonsense to her, something in vocal binary perhaps or at least the kind A.I.'s would talk in to each other to hasten information channeling. She held her hand up, rifle hanging in her left hand at her side.

"Alright, alright, alright. Shut up." She put her hand in front of his mouth to stop him. He did stop, but he seemed much more relaxed, something about lowering her rifle seemed to have assured the A.I. she wasn't a threat, though if he was running an error it would explain why he wouldn't speak her language, as all robots are built with the knowledge of.

She pointed at the symbol on his shoulder, tapping it with her index and shrugging. She wanted to get the point across she didn't know his model nor his company, meaning he may have been outdated and abandoned.

An interesting thought appeared in her head. What if this planet was the Synthetic Hell everyone whispered about behind their own A.I.'s backs?

That... could be a possibility.

Her head rang with "what if's", "buts'", "maybes" and "possibilities". It was time for answers and she was going to get them out of this outdated A.I. even if she had to pull it apart piece by piece.

For the meantime, she had to watch for those armed droid's, they appeared dangerous, either or not they're on her side and this A.I. was the real enemy would have to remain a mystery for now.

* * *

_**Errrrrk! Stop right there!** Review replies will be posted at the top! :)_


	4. The Cybertronian

_**The Next Life.**_

_By Kaimaler._

* * *

_**So this is a bit of two** **kinds** of my Chapter Sheet. It blends "Directory Chapter" with "Main Chapter" because this introduces a new character, though, you all probably know him already. Oooo._

_I also wanted to apologize for the lameness on this chapter's publishment, I hit a muse snag, again, and it dragged me into the world of a game called "Dragon Age: Origins" and I found myself lost within it's Darkspawn-Elven depths. Also, apparently I'm the Savior of the world and the Queen. Woot woot, the King's a catch. ;)_

_And two other games called "_The Saboteur_" where you kill Nazi's. 'Nuff said.  
"_Amnesia: The Dark Descent_" will shove you in a closet, toss it down a cliff, light it on fire, stick swords inside it, without giving you light, never telling you a thing, and MAYBE it'll be merciful and tell you it was all your imagination A.K.A. horror game. To the extreme. I'm scared... Hold me._

_**Review Replies:**_

_**AotA: **__Then I like your brain. :)  
Mmm, dismantle. I've always wanted to use that word. Oh, right, serious business here! Well, our Captain is quite the creative fellow; she has experience in nearly every field. Battle, political, travel, improvisation, personal, etc. etc. Things that define a person of her stature. While I made her tall, athletic due to her military position and history (explained as time goes on!) she has to be many things and more since her survival depended on it, thankfully, she filled those positions quickly and perfectly. While for the time being, this chapter is a far bit more complicated then the usual, I just hope it's a good roll to the next, more intense chapter.  
I already have mischievous ideas.  
Yes, A.I. was a great, sad, and sweet movie. All he wanted was his mothers love! And they took it from him; also, I love Gigolo Joe and Jane. They crack me up. xD_

**_Teddy-wabbitz:_**_ I love you Teddy, you know this. :3  
Our squishy heroine is in fact squishy and all around plush. However, our hard shelled individual is, truth be told, our Second Main Character in this story as you'll learn in this chapter and more so in the next.  
No surprise really, she needs someone she can trust before we move onto the deeper aspects of this story.  
I'M SORRY, it took so long. :( I let you down_

* * *

It took a moment to adjust, but aside from that her suit worked properly. The A.I. hadn't injected a virus into her suit; on the contrary, he used his own way to... communicate.

With her rifle trained on his core, he had given the option to download information. A task not easily condoned especially when one relies on their suit to survive. Reluctant yet reasonable, the Captain gudgeoning gave the A.I. one of her empty data chips and, although he was momentarily interested in the small compact device, he continued to download the language he spoke so her HUD and radio would begin auto translation.

While the A.I. had no knowledge of this he still was insisting on the data swap of information. So she let him and now, her HUD completed the upload.

She was concerned he would download some kind of glitch into it, therefore starting a chain reaction of virus programs shutting down her suit, but he didn't and for the moment it seemed he was indeed an ally or is for now.

Quickly, words appeared on her HUD in a language she had never seen before. She, as an explorer, could speak, understand, and write in many languages, some only she could understand others she could only write, but this language was not registered and when her archive's attempted to identify it they came up blank.

This... writing showed no relation to any other she had seen, of course, they were rather blocky and in one long row, giving the appearance that it was all one word, which she was sure wasn't true.

With the aid of her radio and translation units after the HUD completed and stored all information exchanged on the data chip, she could finally understand what he was saying.

Though she couldn't say the same for him.

It was her turn to give him an understanding of her language in reply. She had not the tools translators did, they carried sets and volumes of one's language or another, offering language on a data chip was simplicity in its greatest form for them. Unfortunately, the same did not go for the Captain.

Using her HUD, she selected her English database, though she wasn't British or American herself, it was the most common form of language used in trade and business. People made learning the basic language easier over time, mastering the language completely was relatively difficult, but learning basics and communication without misinterpretation wasn't.

So with this A.I.'s downloading phase finished, he began speaking his language yet again only this time her HUD translated and relayed the translation into her audio receiver, making every word from his vocal processors sound like the Galactic Basic used in all forms of trade and business.

She certainly felt like she was negotiating something, what exactly she had no clue.

Now he spoke again with her HUD and translation devices accustomed to the new language, he could speak normally and she could understand. In reply, her translation device selected the unknown language the A.I. spoke and when it relayed what she said it would be translated to the A.I. in front of her, making her speak his tongue without even learning it properly.

"You do not look like a Decepticon."

She blinked rapidly, what the hell did he say? Certain words that had no possible equivalent in her language came out with the nearest it could. Deception? Deceiving whom? And for what purpose?

"What do you mean _deception_?" She questioned, her rifle remaining aimed at his core functions. "I have the gun, I ask the questions." She growled, he seemed to understand good enough, his only response was to nod and put his hands up.

"A Decepticon. Not deception." He corrected her while her HUD copied and confirmed the new word. "Based on your answer, you are not one of them."

She was mentally perturbed that this A.I. was talking factions, but then again this was a new world, she should really not be surprised. "Decepti-cons. I see and what are these Decepticons?"

He was somewhat pleased the person aiming at him wasn't a Decepticon, but she was still aiming a weapon at his spark, something he wasn't taking lightly. That and there wasn't a single being he knew of that didn't know what the Decepticons are. "They... There is no way to explain them really, for what I can say is that they threaten our way of life. Decepticons are led by one mech; he is attempting to control Cybertron, though he kills innocents in order to do so. We are at war, how can you not know this?" He asked, his optics narrowing.

"I'm new, stick with that." She racked her mind with new words, Cyber-what? Is that a political leadership? "What's this Cyber-thing you mentioned?"

Dumbstruck but functional, he raised a metal brow, glancing all around him. "The planet, Cybertron? How can you not know what-" He gasped, that fire ball falling from the skies over the towers. It wasn't just a comet; it must have been a ship.

"I told you, I'm new, don't make me repeat myself."

He mentally scolded himself for not thinking of it sooner. He noticed her plating, her structure and weaponry were all designs he had never seen before. Perhaps she was part of a Neutral faction that hid themselves away from the war, which was the only sensible option. Still it wouldn't answer how she knew nothing of the Decepticons.

"Are you Neutral?"

Again, she found herself asking questions in her mind. "What do you mean? To these Decepticon folk?"

He nodded, "And to us."

Sighing, she asked once more. "Who are you?"

"I am Orion Pax, I am an Autobot and we are the only other faction fighting the Decepticons in the war." He watched her; he could see no facial movement due to the odd visor she wore. She could be a speed built femme; it only made sense that way. She was thinner, not truly aerodynamic... In turn meant she could be created as an infiltrator. This wasn't good news to the Autobot.

"A what? Auto-what?" She was on the edge, she hated asking so many questions that made her look ignorant especially to a potential enemy; he could feel he has the advantage against an dimwitted target.

"Autobot." His metal plated face twisted in confusion. "Where are you from?"

She was technically defeated; her best choice was to play the victim here. If she stated she crashed and is trying to go home, perhaps he'd pity her. She needed some pity right now from a local. With his aid, she could maybe work her way back to the ship in safety with someone who knows the area.

In any case, all options, she couldn't resist the A.I. in front of her, she had to surrender if she wanted to see the Corsair and reach a functional long distance radio signal. This A.I. would be her ticket; he'd take her where she wanted so long as she could show herself an ally to him and his people's cause.

"Earth." She stated simply, assuming his knowledge of his manufacturer species origin. "I'm searching for my ship and I need help."

Deep in his processor, Orion thought that helping the unfortunate Neutral would be best, may even earn supporters from the Neutral's. A few things bothered him, basics like where was "Earth"? Was it a city, town, or refugee encampment? And it seemed his assumption was correct, this femme was on the crashing ship his allies intended to investigate at a later date, when the Decepticons weren't blowing holes in their patrol camps.

Then, as quickly as the Captain raised her rifle to the A.I.'s core, it lowered, her arm pulling the heavy weapon to her back before it latched onto its carrier, holding it safety and tightly to her back. While Orion relaxed at the end of hostilities, the Captain continued, disconnecting a small wire in the front, letting the HUD power down before she raised the helmet off and over her head.

With the oxygen attachment in the back of the helmet, the Captain hung it over her right shoulder, the extra oxygen rushed out of the helmet, creating a small breeze over her until it finally stopped and her oxygen dropped to meet exterior pressure. The air tube, connecting to the back of her helmet, tugged lightly from the center of her back, directly next to her rifle.

Orion stood in shock as the Captain reassessed her armor and oxygen levels, going over easy diagnostics tended to by the user's own hands and eyes.

This femme must have been an infiltrator of some high caliber. He had never seen one his radar couldn't read especially when he was looking directly at them nor one with such odd appearance. The advanced flexible armor must add greatly to her skill, if he was indeed correct about her being an infiltrator.

"I'm Captain Gaia De Mercurio of the Corsair Escion." She introduced herself holding her hand out which Orion cautiously took. "My ship, the Corsair Escion, was shot down above your world and I'm searching for its crash site, with any luck, I can get a mayday sent to military space."

He stared unwittingly as she sighed, hand resting on her hip. "A.I.?" She questioned as he watched her expressions and skin.

"What... are you?" His metal brows furrowed, trying to find a reasonable answer now was quickly becoming harder. Her tanned face plates reflected against the normal silvers and grays of a Cybertronian's face, and what exactly floated in the wind on top of her head was a mystery, it seemed lighter then air itself yet some was pulled back tightly.

"What am I?" She scoffed, the A.I. must be malfunctioning after so much time abandoned. "Homo-sapiens since your memory bank seems to be damaged."

He closed his optics a moment, trying in vain to remember anything about this _homo-sapien_ currently in front of him. Before giving up, he tried one last option. "You have to be from that ship we saw crashing, right?" He asked, index and thumb pressing on the side of his face plates.

Nodding gingerly, the Captain strided over to a fallen over pillar, taking a seat as she assessed the A.I. properly. "Yes. The Corsair Escion as I mentioned." She flexed her left hand to return blood flow after being cut off when holding the rifle. "We were shot down just above your world, probably some scavengers and treasure hunters out here in deep space hoping to find some poor, unfortunate Wayfarer and board them. Turns out it was us they came after, they had some damn fine cloaking. We didn't pick them up on radar until they fired, by then their hackers had scratched their way into our mainframe, shutting down our automatic control."

Processing the new information, Orion walked cautiously to the homo-sapien resting on the broken pillar. "Act like I don't know what you mean." He replied in a friendlier tone, hoping to have the space traveler on a good side rather then the previous hostility.

"Ask away, I got time for now." She pulled a ration from her pack, chewing on the energy bar while he stared in wonder.

With new found confidence and curiosity, he grinned. "What are you doing?" The Captain snickered, holding the bar on her knee while she shook her head. "Eating. I have to if I want to live and stay healthy. If I don't I die, simple as that."

Narrowing his optics, he tried to understand the mechanics working inside the oddly smooth-faced creature. All that come was that the action and item she was _eating_ served the same purpose as their Energon; something though they could live without for a long time, was still required to support life on this world.

"What is the Corsair Escion?" He played back part of the conversation in his head, ensuring his pronunciation was correct. "The Corsair Escion is a highly advanced war frigate. It carries one-hundred plus crew members, not including any VIP's brought onboard. It was built for the sole purpose of defense. Though all Corsair model's now are military defense on the outskirts of UN controlled space, it can also serve as an excellent exploration frigate; a wonderful bonus to its unique design." She smiled, chewing on the bar. "Very few people are deemed Captain's of these models for they do have their setbacks and that usually includes their rather delicate handling systems, people found it annoying and overly difficult to pilot or even find a pilot willing to work with one."

He logged the information as each word was spoken, relying on her data of the crashing ship. Without a fully analysis of the ship as a whole, all he could learn was basic and somewhat mundane.

But his curiosity quickly overruled his logic programs.

Taking a seat beside her, he closely watched her as she lifted the ration, bit into it, chewed, and swallowed. There was more, however, that intrigued him about homo-sapiens, it felt more important to find out about her and her crash before allowing himself the satisfaction of discovering this new specie.

"What do these scavengers do exactly?" He watched as her chest plates rose and fell, only serving to make his duty of identifying if she's a threat or an ally that much harder.

She was beginning to bite the bar again until she heard his question. She lowered it and stared forward a moment before answering him honestly.

"Most of time, I can say with all my heart I have no idea what they do _exactly_. No one really does." She turned to face him, her alien eyes watching him with a confused expression. "What I do know and what all of my specie do know, is that they are ruthless when someone crosses their paths. The hardest part is actually discovering if you are passing into their territories. See, all of space is divided into sections and controllers. The bulk of space is owned by the UN, United Nations, and all of space is policed by them. Every spec of space is watched closely, except for the outskirts, where the danger really is and where my crew is usually found. These scavengers each have a name or title of their own, leave markers only other scavengers can see and avoid because each is different and not all is owned by them. For people like me, it makes exploration and expansion ever more life-threatening."

Surprised but understanding, Orion decided to state and not ask this time around. He had already learned the most important of all; how she came to be on Cybertron.

"The Decepticons are somewhat like that. Except they are all connected and it is very difficult to fight them off when they find us." Orion turned from her gaze while she made a mental note to find out more about his world. "As Autobot's it is our duty to fight them and defend what is left of our civilization. With most of Cybertron lost, only the Council remains and our current Prime, we listen to him who in turn listens to the Council. We never leave Cybertron even though we have the technology to do so; we just have too many political and national threats to deal with here that we could not risk finding something else out there."

The Captain nodded, jutting her jaw forward and biting her lip. "Damn good call of judgment." He turned to her quickly. "We would have shot you down without asking questions. We ran into an alien specie a while ago, about fifty, sixty years or so ago, before I was ever even born. It wasn't pleasant; most people back home that lived through the ordeal are too scared and too traumatized to speak of it. All I really know about it from government records of it, is that they came; they killed mercilessly, while we had tried to bargain the lives of the ones they held. Apparently, they were a nomadic people, a very old race that lost their planet to overpopulation and the death of resources. For their own sake, we killed most of them and imprisoned who we could in hopes to understand them."

Just a suddenly as she appeared, Orion felt a deal of concern over the femme that sat beside him. Not for her personally, but for her kind. It was out of mere compassion that he felt for her, but he always thought that was the best course of action when dealing with a new mech, especially a femme after what the Decepticons had done to them.

Feeling the need to change subjects, Orion went back to their conversation early on. "What is a 'Wayfarer'?"

Chuckling, she smiled brightly to him. "You're just full of questions." With a pleasant sigh, she continued on; indulging his little escapade into her specie. "Wayfarer's are just space travelers, civilians usually, or tourists. On a rare occasion it'll be a passing alien. They aren't ever shown the hospitality I know we humans can give, but you already know that story."

"Humans?"

The Captain burst into laughter, "Yes, my metal friend, humans. Us, homo-sapiens. It's the common term for our specie, so... just say that when mentioning my kind." She rolled her eyes, finishing off the energy bar.

Finally feeling his time had come, Orion opened up with questions of her species. "Humans... what are you specifically. I can see you are some form of synthetic metal, yet I cannot see more then that. I do not have the ability to see through you."

Again, she laughed. "I certainly hope not!" She crossed her arms over her chest plate with another laugh, "What are we? That's a difficult question to answer. I'm no scientist or doctor, so all I can tell you is that we're made up of blood, flesh, and meat." She scrunched her face up, thinking of a way to explain herself better. "I'd ask you, but I know an A.I.'s answer..." She grunted.

"An A.I.?" He shook his head, "No, I'm Cybertronian."

Blinking rapidly, she stared forward to the ground. "Cybertronian? As in... native to Cybertron." She remained still, mind aflutter with intrigue, "Tell me, who built you?"

Orion, taken aback by the query, wandered back through his memories before reaching a conclusion. "Some know, some find out, so far, I'm neither. Cybertronian's are created individually, sometimes by another specific Cybertronian." The Captain rubbed her head and Orion stopped, watching closely as she released the strands on her head, shook them, and tied them back up in a neater fashion.

"What is that?" He pointed to her newly tied ponytail.

"Hair." She replied simply, "All, er, most humans have it." She glanced to her hairline.

Silence swept over them, not uncomfortable, just relived. The Captain breathed in heavily, she was concerned this A.I. would be hostile, but it seemed friendly enough, no threats, no malfunctions, and certainly no weapons on him to be seen. As for her companion, she had not one clue what he thought of her or her specie. With his databanks left unattended to, no routine maintenance to be called for, he had kept the programmed persona all A.I.'s were given; the Three Laws.

"What did you mean about my '_memory banks'_ being damaged?" He crossed his hands, clasping them together in nervous excitement.

Snapping out of herself, Gaia returned his question. "You're an A.I., humans created the first Artificial Intelligences known; it was only after years of research that we perfected the form and generated a new model, one you obviously are spawned from."

Orion's optics narrowed, his processor trying to clear up her reply. "We are native to Cybertron, our life is our spark, and no one can build a spark. It comes from our sparkling years." He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "I have not one record of humans here; no one has from what I know. Such a discovery would be archived, the Council would know, we would all know."

"Council?" Gaia scratched her cheek, "You mean... That's impossible. No machine can build itself, there has to be a creator; a human mind behind the creation."

"That's-" Both heads swiveled to the giant hole, a voice echoing through it. At first, it was misheard, possibly just a sound, then it shouted again. "Orion!"

"There is the other Autobots, they must be coming back for me." He grinned, taking sole fondness of his team.

As fast as she appeared, Gaia snapped her helmet on, HUD flashing to life, her rifle firm in her hands aiming to the entrance. "That's my cue." She backed away from him, glancing to every last hole and exit. "Nice chat," She waved to him, "But I can't stick around for this.

"Why not? If I tell them what you told me, they will understand." Orion stood before her, standing aside her rifle. "Then maybe we can help." He offered a kind smile and a hand.

"I can't risk it." She pushed his hand down, "What if they don't and they deem me as a threat. It happens all the time back home, you meet a member, their cool, but once you meet the family all hell breaks loose. Right now, in this situation, I can't bet my life on '_maybe_', at least until I get a mayday out to the military."

"Orion Pax!" The booming voice rushed through the walls of the post-battlefield. "We're coming!" Another voice, lighter, possibly a younger being in Gaia's mind. In Orion's, it was his people and he needed to go to them.

"Please," He rested a hand on her shoulder, slightly held by the feel of her armor and the material between the plates. "We all saw your ship crash, it was hard to miss." He grinned weakly, "Let's just try, you need us. You do have no way to navigate the streets and cities, you cannot avoid Decepticons forever, eventually they will find you and they do not exercise control like us. Your life depends on if you can get to your ship; then let us take you there."

Gaia flashed her eyes to Orion and back to the blast hole multiple times, trying to watch for Orion's people while she decided.

He was right, she knew this. Any person under this circumstance would realize this immediately. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't hoped somewhere deep within her mind that he, as a native, could help her to find the crash site. Even if it was just spark of hope, perhaps it would be enough to make this work. To travel amongst his people may give her insight, a certain discovery of a new world with a new specie, one not violent or primitive, would be very welcomed back home.

It's either she goes, as she privately wished was the best option, or she tries to find her own way. Clearly, she needed their expertise on this planet to reach her target.

It was far too easy of a way out in Gaia's mind, something was wrong about this and she couldn't shake it. The only problem was she couldn't find out what it was, possibly he's one of a kind, a good soul in the center of evil; she knew her old Captain would judge and dictate it was foolish to join a faction when you don't even know what they're fighting for nor their intentions, especially when her best offence is her sole partner; her rifle, and her best defense was this Cybertronian.

A questionable decision it may be, but it had to be made. Orion trusted her too easily; anyone with sense could see this. Gaia wouldn't make that mistake, she'd watch him and his people like a hawk, and she'd make sure no attempts were made on her life.

That was all she could do.

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_**Errrrrk! Stop right there!** Review replies will be posted at the top! :)_


	5. Little White Lies

_**The Next Life.**_

_By Kaimaler._

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_**Review Replies:**_

_**Teddy-wabbitz:** Hee hee! I know, when I finished sketching the final imagery and fuctions I was dying to get my hands on one. Of course, I made it up and it'll never exist. :(  
As time goes on the trust of the Autobots won't be a problem. At all. There are far worse things then trying to befriend a faction that desires peace and proparity. So many worse things.  
Woot, plot-ness!  
Yeah, my apologies to how long this took, at least it's somewhat long..._

**_Horser01:_**_ Oh you'll know a number of them, but of course this is deeper G1, where "_Transformers"_ actually begun in '84. Most characters and personalities will be derived from that era, however, more serious/dark endevors are best saved as Bay's Transformers movie. So it'll fluctuate between the shows/movies/comics, but nothing is random, this I assure you._

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This was becoming more and more complicated as time went on.

Orion Pax's superior was a bit... offended by her presence. Orion kept trying to explain to him something, perhaps trying to convince him she was an ally? More then likely Orion was telling the superior that Gaia had a chance to kill him and instead hid him from the Decepticons.

_Yeah, that would actually be quite a compelling argument, _Gaia entertained the thought, _Could work; depending on how lovely this guy is... _She scoffed inwardly, to her this slightly taller machine seemed further then just pissed off.

The case to and against her was clearly becoming inconclusive. While the superior would use reason for her actions in the negative, Orion would quickly rebuttal with Gaia's explanations; her crash, her ignorance of the Autobot-Decepticon war and how her people were Neutral's who abandoned Cybertron long ago.

Wait, what?

It was quickly established that revealing her specie wasn't going to happen, not with dire consequences at least. Orion was trying his hardest to persuade them that she wasn't a threat; but the superior didn't want to hear it. Orion did all he could, but still his allies trained their weapons on her.

One specific character held two excessively large heavy weapons. She didn't want to piss him off further.

Though showing herself to the Autobot's went smoothly, after explaining she had no faction, things went south faster then her ship did when it was crashing. All she could do was stand on the sideline, hoping Orion Pax convinced them of her good intentions.

Apparently, the large, powerful looking being ahead of her who Orion was attempting his explanation was the leader obviously. He was massive, beyond normal measures. She had seen some humans reach this height, but that was caused by lack of gravity, meaning they were born and grew in space, where there was nothing restricting their height from reaching its full potential.

She wasn't one of these humans. Gaia was born in space, raised on Earth, and then moved with her family back out to space as a young girl. Perhaps she was taller then the average person, she still wasn't _that_ tall.

Gaia was smart enough to listen for his name; Sentinel Prime. Odd title, but a role a leadership nonetheless. Then she found out what the large dome-like destroyed building was. It was, in Orion's words, a Gladiatorial Arena.

Sure she was new, yes she was planning various ways to escape, and she did have her own rifle out, she still needed help though. Without direction from natives, she'd be lost, wandering until she died of starvation, dehydration, or exasperation. These Autobots would be her life if she joined them… and if they didn't kill her.

Odds weren't truly in her favor, but having a younger soldier argue on her behalf, as a Captain of one of the most galaxy renowned crews, she had to stand up for herself.

"Excuse me Orion, if I may be so bold to stop you there." She held a hand to Orion, signaling her own desire to speak for herself. "I believe it's better two commanders speak face to face."

The large Cybertronian agreed silently, turning away from his soldier to see her. Though her helmet hid her specie and forced the Autobots to believe she was, in fact, just another "Neutral" Cybertronian, that's just what she wanted for when she does prove herself an alien, if she ever even does.

"I'd prefer a proper meeting," She didn't have to worry about him seeing her face thankfully, it just meant less work on her part, being able to bit her lip out of nervous habit or lip them when dry, "I am Captain De Mercurio of the Corsair Escion. You'd know the Corsair as the fireball crashing into the surface."

Politely, the Captain held out her hand in hopes Sentinel Prime would show open-mindedness. He did just that, "I am Sentinel Prime, leader of the Autobots." They cautiously shook each others hands before releasing. "You said that ship that crashed was yours?"

"It is, or was. I'm unsure as to how much of it survived the initial impact. If your people here haven't already taken to exploring it and scavenging it, then it'll be a skeleton of its past glory." She smiled to herself, aware the giant could not see it, "She really was a beautiful ship." Nostalgia demanded her admitting of love for the dead vessel, as well as her own conscience. It was no use trying to deny her closeness to the Corsair or her crew; it would be an insult truthfully.

"You seek out it's wreckage from what Orion Pax tells me." The giant was unreadable, stoic as ever, he appeared to have the demeanor of a true leader. "Why?"

"With a little luck..." Gaia shrugged, "I can go home."

Sentinel Prime could understand the need, the desire to see if something was truly gone or not. At times the very feeling had washed over him on rare occasions. He never let his sentimentality slip to his soldiers though, his image would remain untarnished. As for the femme ahead of him, his decision was inconclusive. The idea of this femme being Neutral and beyond Cybertron; in space, was nearly unbelievable. The technology was there, just the fear of discovering unknown danger held them back from ever truly exploring the galaxy around them.

If De Mercurio (curious name, he thought) was from space and had never participated with the war below on the home world, then she would know a thing or two about it.

Perhaps if there actually was a threat looming beyond where their optics and technology could reach currently, then she would know, wouldn't she?

Then, he indulged his own curiosity. A femme alive? Not just alive, but one unknown to the threat of war between the Autobots and Decepticons in the outer regions of the Council's city. It was unheard of, worse, it could be a trap.

His own processor tried to calculate the possibility of this femme speaking the truth. It wasn't good. Percentiles reached him, hit him hard as his own instincts told him that it was nearly impossible for this femme to be for real.

Of course, there was that small percent she was real, she was honestly lost on a world she never stepped foot on. It was all he needed.

As a leader, the decision to protect his troops from a _possible_ threat was weighing heavily on him. Yet everyone deserved a chance, if she wasn't lying and he discovered this later on, his regret would be great. Handing this endangered gender off to the Decepticons was something he couldn't and wouldn't risk happening. Her honesty would play a great part in her future and if she survived; all of Cybertron's future.

His duty to his troops and his people mattered most. He didn't have to understand her or her story; he simply had to hope she proved her loyalty in time.

"I cannot risk my troops to a possible threat yet I also cannot risk you telling the truth, not believing you and the Decepticons capturing you." He crossed his arms, "I could never condemn one to such a fate. You may join us De Mercurio, however, your presence will be watched closely. All you do will be recorded by one of my soldiers, your freedom with us will be limited for that I am sorry but I-"

"-must keep the lives of your people ahead of an unknown visitor." Gaia nodded, "I am, was, a Captain of a vessel carrying over one-hundred crewmembers, I was their Captain and their protector, I know the responsibilities that come with leadership. Do not fret yourself over me though, I am outnumbered and outgunned, I will do my best not to cause too much trouble with you or your soldiers." With a curt bow, Sentinel Prime was pleased with her straightforwardness; it gave him a stronger confidence within the femme.

"We need to move, there is Decepticon activity in the area." A Cybertronian stepped up, eyeing her warily as his optics flicked back and forth between his leader as if he was concerned about her attacking him at any moment, until finally resting on Sentinel Prime.

"Then we will welcome back Orion later, for now, let us continue," Prime stated, his troops behind him were already on the look out, "Come De Mercurio, you shall accompany me. I do wish to know more of this ship of yours."

She did as he asked, no point in refusing to explain her vessel; she just couldn't say anything about _what_ she really was. The Autobots looked ready to shoot her as it was even though their weapons were now aimed elsewhere, they still watched her, gradually glancing to her as Sentinel asked her questions.

Oh. Questions. She didn't hear him beneath her own worry.

"I apologize; I was... hoping no one had an itchy trigger finger." She shook her head, "Could you repeat that?"

Sentinel grinned, he seemed kind enough. His features certainly gave Gaia a feeling of an old warrior, a decorated war veteran who traveled the fringes of space fighting off invaders only to return to his family years later wizened by his time battling, knowledge bestowed upon only those who know where to look.

That was an impression. With a bit luck and chance, she'd be right.

"Do not concern yourself over them," He answered kindly, lowering his voice and leaning toward her slightly, "They may be young, but they know when to shoot and whom."

Gaia smiled, she gathered once more that Sentinel couldn't see her amusement. Maybe she needed to make a point of that; her helmet obstructing their view of her face.

"You are silent, have I said something to offend you?" He was being more polite then serious; he knew nothing he could have said had any real possibility of harming her emotionally.

Shaking her head quickly, Gaia covered herself. "No! - Heh, actually I was smiling." She laughed at herself, "I know you can't see me, but that's what I was doing. Sorry, I'm just used to my crew still that I'm slacking on my manners."

Sentinel offered little more then a dismissive wave of his hand, "Worry not." She spotted Orion behind her; he was waving his hands in an urgent "_no_!" As if he knew what Sentinel was going to ask next. "Why do you not remove your helmet? You are with allies here, no need for defensive measures as long as you are not a Decepticon." He chuckled.

"Uh, erm, yes right..." Think fast, think fast, think fast, think fast. Improvisation! "About that... you see- I can't." She fumbled for words, improvising was never her strong suit when it came to mumbling out a realistic story about _why_ she _can't_ take off her helmet. No one could as far as she could tell. _Well, except the senior pilot_, She mused happily.

"Why not?" There it was; doubt. Now he had a reason to believe she was a threat, more so then the usual "_random person appears!_" act. No he didn't trust her. At all. It certainly wasn't helping that she refused to divulge her identity past her name. She couldn't let him believe that reason she wouldn't show her face was because she actually a Decepticon in disguise.

Gaia sighed, she had something. It was flimsy, it wouldn't work to single human being, but she had to understand this mechanical being wasn't human and was prone to falling for human tricks; perhaps they would be new and unheard of to him. That would be perfect.

"There was... an incident a long time ago." She put on a darker tone, one that cried out '_traumatic memory recall_' in her head. "Aboard the Corsair, someone had attacked us; nearly killed us all. We narrowly escaped with our lives but... the attack had not gone without side-effects. My people were hurt, terribly injured. We tried to seek out help, but not a being knew how to fix us and neither did we."

His metal brows furrowed, "What happened?"

Gaia was growling inwardly, she had not one clue how to pull this off. "A compound, a gaseous based compound we compress and use in case our ship was ever boarded and we were defeated; it escaped. The tank it was locked it was penetrated and flooded the ship without our knowing." She tried her best to paint a picture... with her hands in front of her. "The hole wasn't large enough to release the whole compound into the air at once, just a small amount as we regained ourselves post-battle."

"What was this compound?" He, ignorant of what exists in space, was a gullible target for this trick.

"Sodium Hypochlorite." It was one of the _only_ toxins she could actually remember. She had the stuff in her home back on Earth. Everyone did.

He nodded, "What does it do?"

"We actually use it commonly in various situations, domestic or not." She was trying to work her anatomy descriptions to a Cybertronians own, though difficult, not too impossible. "It will kill a being if ingested. So we super heat it using a fusion heater; it'll vaporize into the air poisoning any who breathe it."

"It reached your crew?"

"Everyone. No one was spared." She was sweating inside her suit; it was ludicrous that this was working. Sodium Hypochlorite was bleach found in the everyday household. Hell, she even used it to bleach her armor once after that damn scientist exploded due to his own psychopathic endeavors; took her days to get the stains out of her suit.

"It basically forced us to... reassess the atmosphere we live in. We had to continue mixing compounds, from basic oxygen's to some rather dangerous gases. We finally rested on an answer; our ship carried this as a substitute for regular air so we could survive. When we left the ship we had to wear suits like the one I have on. If I take this helmet off, I'll suffocate, my body will reject the oxygen here on Cybertron and pretty much cook me alive; until finally all my internal functions either explode or rupture beyond repair."

Sentinel remained straight faced; shocked truthfully by this tale, but he wasn't going to say anything against it. He had no knowledge of the compound and he wasn't about to question something he never heard of, it would be unwise.

"I see." He lied really. He had no plausible excuse to speak out against this story he just went along with it. "Very well, carry on. You were speaking of your vessel, this Corsair Escion I believe?"

"You asked me something." She screamed at herself mentally; it had worked, not for long no doubt, but just enough until they trust her and she trusts them.

"Ah yes." His optics narrowed in memory, "I had asked where you come from, your ship must have had a dock yet I have heard nor seen any around Cybertron."

Alright, another lie. That wasn't hard right? Just a little white lie here and there and voila! She would be safe within their little circle of trust. "Originally a frigate was built and deployed into space years and years ago. It carried with it the supplies and capacity to create functional vessels. It supports itself just outside of the atmosphere. My ship, the Corsair Escion, is the latest technology available." At this point, Gaia knew honestly she was gloating; if only a bit.

"My ship set off the Corsair model line, the Escion itself being the only one of its kind. It's upgradable, powerful, and unique in everyway. I am still proud to this very day of its existence and even though I know it's gone now; I can say I will never feel at home anywhere else as I did on that ship."

Something out of her mouth had to be true and heartfelt; otherwise she'd feel like she was betraying Sentinel's belief in her. If he had any. From her own eyes she had to describe her home in all the ways it is and was and will become so her shoulder's are weightless even though Orion and herself are lying about her specie; they would tell him, in time, when he has proven he has the ability to consider and relate to her.

He merely nodded in reply and that was all they said for some time, the soldiers behind them whispered to each other; bombarding Orion with questions on where she hailed from and he kept giving them the same answer; Corsair Escion, from outside Cybertron.

Gaia could clearly hear the conversations between the team courtesy of her helmet's heightened sensitivity. She was simply being careful, if one plotted against her now she would know about it and could act upon it if necessary. Orion, however, seemed in between. He obviously didn't want to lie to his allies, much less his leader, but he was a good soldier; he wanted to save Gaia and to her dismay she need saving right now.

They hadn't walked too long, not long enough to look back and not spot the building Orion and herself met in.

"Inside." Sentinel spoke, snapping Gaia out of her internal thoughts, "We have a small encampment here; more of my people are inside. You are welcome for the time being De Mercurio, but you must understand in the best interests of my troops I am ordering a shift watch over you."

Gaia shrugged and nodded, she knew what it entailed. The fact he trusted her enough to even let her stand beside him was a feat, she wasn't going to push her luck, certainly not on an alien world.

Cautiously stepping through the large vault-like door, Gaia quickly observed the area she was to be kept in.

The camp had a few more Autobot members within, more then what was in Sentinel's unit. Why was he out like that? Leader of the Autobots taking a small squad out for patrol? Perhaps it was something to do with Orion or the Decepticons? Was there-

"De Mercurio." She, with military training, was only mentally shocked when her name was called. Maybe it was better to tell them her first name? Friends called her a multitude of things from joking insults to references of her more famously told time in space exploration. Having someone call De Mercurio all the time felt like she should turn around and there'd be her boot camp sergeant major ready to whip her into shape.

Funny, was the feeling she could appropriately describe it.

"This way." And so she followed, like a silent tour Gaia soaked in the locals. The Autobots were all clearly distinguishable. Either they were red and yellow, straight red, white a blue, or a whole mix of colors and structural builds, each one was distinguishable. Unlike humans their physical nature isn't very different from the next unless it's an extreme; like the Autobots were. A human couldn't look at the back of someone and tell who it is; they need the persons' face to allow their brain to recognize a familiar.

"This is our main room; we'll hold any meetings here unless spoken otherwise. The majority of the Autobots here are all in this room; it supports radar and communications in case of emergencies." Sentinel didn't even turn his head as they passed the middle of the room. Gaia had noticed the squad that Sentinel traveled in was no longer behind them.

Wait, where's Orion? She needed Orion.

Gaia had nervously caught all stares cast her way, no one here was concerned with manners enough to turn their head away from the stranger; the alien in this very rare case. Mercifully, no one could see her face; her helmet provided a source of emotional security while her armor deflected any physical compromise.

"Down to the right are the berths, Autobots will head there only when they require recharge, if you do simply speak to me; I would like to trust you De Mercurio, but you must understand you came out of nothingness to me." Gaia coughed, oh no, she knew that made a weird noise coming out of her helmet.

"Are you alright? Do you need recharge now?" Oh he most definitely was a good man. "No, no. Um, it's a side effect of the poison. I just coughed, my internals are a bit frazzled from the experience still, forgive me, I'll try not to do it again in front of anyone."

Sentinel shook his head, "Do not worry over our thoughts of you De Mercurio, all we want to know about you is if you are a friend to us as Autobots. If you feel comfortable sharing what you do or where are from, I am more then intrigued." He smiled, metallic white plates shaped like teeth glistened in the low light, and Gaia could admit she was interested that they had teeth. Did they eat food like she did? No, she even had to explain that one to Orion. "You might even say I am very curious about your past."

Gaia chuckled, "Well Sentinel Prime, tell ya' what; I'll come to you, every day with something new about where I'm from so long as I can... coerce you to allowing an hour or two with me and Orion Pax."

He certainly looked like he was thinking deeply about that. "Orion is a young mech, though his spark is strong and I know in the right place..." Sentinel amused the idea in his processor, "So long as he is in the same condition when he leaves as he is when joining you."

With a thankful laugh, Gaia offered her hand out. "It's a deal." And he took it, Gaia was pleased that the handshake expanded over planets; it would've made her feel ridiculous had she just held her hand in front of him like an idiot.

"I have to return to my work." Sentinel turned opposite of the hall leading to the berth chambers, "I can be found down this hall, where I will be dealing with my mechs reports for now. I hope you will visit me regularly, tell me if your do not accommodations meet your needs, I will do my best to attend to them."

"Thank you Sentinel Prime, but I think I'll be fine for at least a while." Gaia huffed to herself, she certainly wasn't going to complain about temperatures she can't feel inside her suit, or the layout of a building that's been salvaged from ruins to form a makeshift campsite. "I would like to know, just if there's an accident, where is the infirmary?"

Sentinel pointed down the hall he was about to head to, "First to the right, my medical officer will see to all needs."

His optics flashed a brighter blue if only for a second, "I have forgotten to request that you visit my Medical Officer; let him examine you." Gaia gulped, "So you can be sure I'm not a Decepticon? Er, you know I cannot allow even the tiniest of holes in this suit, whatever the Medic can do will have to be to my armor. I apologize for this inconvenience and normally I wouldn't give it a second thought but... that's when I was back inside a controlled and treated atmosphere."

"I realize this; he will tend to your armor, scan you, and examine all he can with your permission. After which he will report what he finds to me." With that, Sentinel turned away and left her with a new Autobot she had never seen before. Where did he come from?

"Prime's ordered me first watch; I am to ensure you meet Ratchet's requirements."

Gaia blinked, "What-" He stepped in front of her, "Follow me." He interrupted, guiding her to the infirmary on Sentinel's orders. "Whatever you say Metalhead." She spoke under her breath, not even daring to admit to herself why she was biting her lip.

If this Medic scanned her; he should easily be able to tell if she was Cybertronian or not.

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_**Errrrrk! Stop right there!** Review replies will be posted at the top! :)_


	6. The Little Things in Life

_**The Next Life.**_

_By Kaimaler._

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_**AN:** Definately a "Character Development" kind of chapter. For Gaia De Mercurio, our Spanish born Captain. Lovely as she may be, this chapter will introduce a member of her crew; proving that although she was loved by many, some didn't at all._

_It also adds more to Gaia's friendship with Orion... kind of._

_**Review Replies:**_

**_Horser01: _**_Nothing particularly exciting yet. He still thinks De Mercurio is Cybertronian, er, a space Cybertronian. ;)  
It's 1:01 AM here! I've been working at this all morning/night so I know the feeling!  
From what little we know of Optimus Prime's life as Orion Pax, he was outstanding for his position; proven by convincing Blurr to side with the Autobots.  
That's no small task.  
Blurr's an arrogant prick. Orion Pax went against what everyone else was doing and persuaded Blurr that the Autobots fought not because they wanted to, but for mechs like him. Those civilians who had no idea how truly threatening the Decepticons were.  
That's the main topic of this TF story. :D  
Oh it did, he, as previously mentioned, is known to go against what all others say and do; what they give up on and move past, Orion fixes, he doesn't order his allies around; he requests them to do it, he is a compassionate mech, it's what made him so effective as a Prime and an Autobot in general.  
YEAH! Posting, that thing I forget. :P_

_**TFGirl:** Well howdy! Many people, Cybertronian and human aike ;) , have been interested in this. I'm so happy! It could become my most successful story yet if I keep you all reading! (and reviewing!)  
_

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Orion was just outside, prepared for Gaia if she needed help. She tried to assure herself that if she denied access to a part of her suit and the Medic was insistent about it, that Orion would be there for her.

It was odd resting her life in the hands of a machine, an A.I. born of natural causes... Or maybe they did stem from human origin and lost this information over generations? If they were created by natural means then Gaia could count them as a new sentient alien specie; something her kind doesn't take to well to anymore.

Whatever the birth of their people was it certainly didn't matter while she had a Medic hovering over her, staring at her with bright blue optics. She would swear he could see right through her sometimes just based on how he would look at her.

Gaia had to calm herself, one thing she allowed the Medic was the ability to read her pulse and raising blood pressure would alert him. If he asked about it anyways.

In better news, she learned who her bodyguard was; an Autobot by the designation of Prowl. From what Gaia had been told he was a military strategist and a rather good one at that. Gaia, in the discomfort of being stared at by the medic, tried her luck at small talk, or reminiscing on her own strategist; it's good if your bodyguard actually likes you enough to protect you.

If he was even doing that.

"You know, I had a military strategist on board the Corsair Escion; a few in fact. I was the Captain and therefore dictator if something was to be or not." Gaia hummed, "My right hand ma-" She cleared her throat, "My right hand mech went by the name of Anthony Gerald, he served on the Corsair for about seven years; not long, but he moved onto a frigate after an injury kept him from his duties."

"How many?" The guard, Prowl, asked while leaning against the wall waiting for the procedure to be finished, "Oh, how many strategists? About nine, each one with a different focus unless required otherwise. It was Tony, er, Anthony who would comprise the plans into the best and one whole then display to me where I would give the final order."

He didn't speak much, a short sentence here or there while the medic worked. "Was he good?"

"The best." Gaia lifted her head, "I could never have asked for better." She sighed happily, she took pride in her crew, the best of the best worked aboard her vessel.

"You said an injury kept him from his other duties aboard your ship, what was the injury?" Prowl pushed himself from the wall; Gaia knew people well enough and found that Cybertronians worked in the same mind frame as a human.

Gaia was almost adamant about giving off this information about Anthony, he is a great man, brilliant mind if a bit unpredictable at times. Her only hesitance to telling Prowl was simply out of good manners, usually a soldier would tell his own stories or at least be around for them to be told, it was respectful this way and more entertaining when the soldier tells them what he was really thinking.

"We walked into a primitive land, people only just began building up colonies on this planet. These people weren't part of our UN, they were scavengers; people who were tried as outlaws to our known galaxy." Anthony was probably back on Earth, his wife and children awaited him there and his brother had refused to allow him to sacrifice himself when Gaia alerted the crew to Corsair's impending doom. His brother, Rory Gerald took his place.

He was probably dead, Rory that is, Anthony probably made it back... Gaia wanted time to mourn for her crew, as human nature intends, but she had to move on; if only to show respect to her lost crew.

"They set traps over the land, things we couldn't see. We took the necessary precautions as we always do. When I heard Anthony and saw his leg had fallen into a trap; I knew I'd lose him, he'd survive, but he wouldn't on my ship. It's a covered trap, expertly made. Inside is extremely sharp wood; a hybrid bamboo of sorts." She bit her lip, the tactics her enemy used were cruel and banished from warfare to the UN, such things were seen as petty and desperate.

"It was jungle, obscured by massive trees and plants that looked like they could eat you whole. It was a strange place, it felt so unnatural, like it was twisted and mutated. Trees grew wrong, normal things would glow like they were radiated." Gaia huffed, the sound echoed out of her helmet. "We late found out it was a known illegal experiment lab that tested on plant and wildlife in order to later use it on us."

The two Autobots were into her story so deeply they simply stood in front of her and waited for her to continue; if she was. When she sat in silence, Ratchet felt he wanted to speak first.

"What is this '_forest'_ you are talking about? Trees and plants?" Ratchet quoted, his optics dimming in burdened thought.

Gaia laughed, "Ha! It's common on other planets, on Cybertron, however, they cannot grow." She warred with two options; slapping herself or patting herself on the back for such a quick come back. "They require a lot of water, sunlight, and fluctuation of temperatures as is natural on their planets. They grow much like my people do in space. We're born, er, created-" Gaia personally thanked herself for taking notes at odd things Orion had said to her when they spoke last. "-and we eventually are mature, adult, and generally experienced in life. Plants are the same, they start as a seed and over time they mature."

Ratchet's processor was alight with new knowledge. Plantlike, trees, nature. All these things were alien to the naturally occurring metal of his planet. Gaia thought the closest equivalent of plant life would be their own selves; born out of metal and grown into metal. The lives of each Cybertronian seemed in perfect harmony with the metropolis around them, if a bit distorted from the war going on.

"It doesn't matter, Anthony was gravely injured. His leg up to his knee had to be amputated because of the viruses that thrived on the alien planet that our bodies couldn't deal with." Gaia's fingers fidgeted. "It kept him from where I really needed him. See he had a gift on the field, he could visualize the entire plan while on the ground, his ability to do so made him so valuable I had to have him by me. I may be the Captain, their leader, but even I have weak spots."

Prowl now stood beside the bunk, Ratchet snapping his processor back to his duties. He pulled out a pair of thin pliers but they had a bent nose and a small gear. The tip obviously did something more then what normal pliers did and it was only when Gaia noticed the very small wire connecting to the top handle that she became worried.

Gaia gulped as Ratchet approached with the odd tool in his hand. "Would you mind giving me your right arm?" Ratchet asked, Gaia slowly complied, she held her arm to him with her wrist facing upward.

Ratchet lowered the tool, the nose of which extended some nearly microscopic prongs. Before Gaia had a chance to protest to whatever it was Ratchet planned on doing, the nose contacted with a piece of her suit over the center of her wrist. A shocking sensation zapped through Gaia's arm and she yanked her hand out of Ratchet's grasp examining the damage.

"Is there a problem?" Ratchet remained still as stone, he felt perhaps he made a mistake. Gaia ignored his comment, watching as the suit sizzled; searing the sensitive skin underneath.

Gaia reacted fast as lightning, she whipped her arm to her backpack yanking it off its hook and tossing it open beside her on the cot. She took out a needle and magnetic cloth, placing the light cloth over the melting glove, the magnetic cloth sparked lightly attracting the metal woven fabric her suit was made out of. The melted material was dragged into the cloth were Gaia inserted the needle into it; safely extracting the liquid metal.

The next was more mundane; she merely pulled out a new emergency glove which had a different design then the other, thankfully that was her only complaint. Folding the magnet cloth back into its pouch, the needle sheathed beside it and the small bottle holding the liquid metal inside a foam compartment while ruined glove would be discarded.

"There, better." Ratchet and Prowl were momentarily exposed to her skin, if they had pushed the subject she would have no lies to defend herself with, but the two categorized it as only another thing she had that they didn't understand.

"What happened?" The medic put the tool down as if it would try to kill him before staring intently at her wrist. "Did those piler-things-" Gaia pointed warily at the alien object, "-use electronic pulses?"

Ratchet nodded, "I use it to test condition of servo connections." He spoke slowly, his confusion more then evident on his face. "What is your suit made of De Mercurio? I have never seen anything like that in all my time as a medic and soldier!" Stricken with new curiosity, Ratchet took the ruined glove in his hands, scanning the small thing intensely.

"Mine is custom made, only the best for Captains of my stature." Gaia huffed proudly, "Though what it's made of? I know some, but not all. It's all hightech, the wove is made from a synthetic fabric that allows me to keep my suit a certain temperature while defending me from shots and knives. It's susceptible to powerful enough electron charges however; those could seriously damage my suit... and me actually."

This seemed to set Ratchet off and Prowl. "Electrons can harm you?" Prowl asked first, he was shocked. No Cybertronian was hurt by electrons, at least, not unless they were charged specifically high enough to offline one. The tool Ratchet used was basic testing, it would resemble a tingling sensation, not armor melting off.

"Well, er, yes." Gaia knew she got herself locked, "Just a technicality due to my medical position; irreparable illness that took over me and my entire crew, remember? Sentinel said all I had to do is reimburse this fact and you'd understand."

"Accept your explanation of the subject? That I can do, but understand it? I am afraid not De Mercurio." Ratchet placed the glove away for future testing, "I will respect it if you do so decide to keep the incident a secret, I have no just reason to pry. Though I will not lie when I say your current position is quite the profound mystery to me."

"Ah, of course it is."

Gaia swore Prowl's optics got darker. "My shift is over, if I am needed I will be speaking with Prime." He left, perhaps because he wanted time to think over this oddity.

Shaking her head, Gaia turned back to Ratchet. "I apologize ahead of time if I smile or make an expression forgetting that you can't see it." Ratchet grinned, "Apology accepted, for any and all times. I get the feeling it will happen often."

"You're so right; and thank you." Ratchet bow slightly, happily amused by Gaia's admittance.

Securing herself on the medical cot, Gaia put her hands together. "I'll tell you what I can, I don't know how it works myself; I'm a Captain, not a scientist." Ratchet leaned against an adjacent cot, arms crossed over his chest as he listened patiently. "The compound scars my pressurizers, not in a way your or I would know, but by creating a scar akin to the metal of ones body that came in contact with acid. It's not strong enough to burn through me or any part of me, yet it's toxic enough to generate this unique scarring."

"In a sense then, correct me if I am wrong, this compound you informed us about raises the internal functions?"

Gaia snapped her fingers and pointed to Ratchet, "Exactly. Unfortunately, if, in it's now dormant state, the scarring is agitated by a different balance of oxygen, nitrogen, and any form of gases it'll react by causing inflammation in the area, it'll become strong enough to burn through me."

Ratchet looked over to the glove resting on the table, "What about your glove? The Pulse magnifier, that tool I used, punctured your suit and allowed the oxygen here to enter; did that not cause the scarring to act in reply?"

She smiled for a moment, she was glad she was getting more creative with this subject. Since she was told to see the medic Gaia instantly tried to invent deeper details as to the functions of her suit. Then, she raised a hand and hit her helmet, stunning Ratchet. "Sorry, I made a face and you didn't see it... I am so sorry."

He only chuckled, "No matter. I already accepted your apologies."

"To answer, no it didn't. My suit is custom, as is my crew's since the incident occurred. Our suits shut off certain compromised areas to defend us, however would we survive if every hole would suffocate us?"

"I will take your word on that."

Ratchet pushed himself up, "I am done here De Mercurio. I dare not risk your health again, though I know you would be safe judging from your suit's usefulness. I do not want to do anymore, if you need a medic though, you know where to find me."

Gaia stood, stretching her legs, arms, neck and back before facing Ratchet, "I hope I satisfied your interests, Medic. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon for all those wounds I just can't do myself." The two, human and Cybertronian, shook hands before Gaia turned to leave.

As the door slid open, Orion jumped back with wide optics. "I was just coming to take Prowl's place." He stood straight, "I wanted to talk to you about where we are headed De Mercurio-" He glanced toward Ratchet who was too busy with his own devices to notice them. -"and some other things that need immediate attention."

Gaia was pulled along with the mech, he led her all the way down a hallway, past a few onlookers before passing through two doors and locking the last one they passed through.

"Gaia, we cannot tell Prime you are not Cybertronian." He stared her down, he was demanding this to be so. "I saw what you were signaling back there Orion, I just don't understand why. You made a good point to Sentinel about me being an ally, why should he doubt me when I show myself as another specie?"

"You just can not." Orion's pressurizers released heavily, emitting to Gaia what sounded exactly like an exasperated sigh. "We, as Autobots, have enough in front of us without having to worry about what is sneaking up behind us. Let us deal with our most immediate threat right now; your kind, the humans, will have to wait. If we tell him, then or now, he would never have given you leave to join us."

She was a bit angry now, she went with Orion because he convinced her Sentinel would relate to her near death experience and invite her to them. "Hold up now," She poked Orion's chest with her index, "You said specifically he'd understand and let me tag along; you said he was a good guy, he'd rather help me then put my life on the line to the Decepticon's for the picking!"

He raised his hands in defense, "I know Gaia, I am sorry, I thought he would; if I made the decisions I would have taken you with us, no second thoughts. Sentinel just has too much to attend to, he has been under great stresses as of late. The Decepticons are on the rise, they are now the main concern to the Council in Iacon, which is where we are headed."

Gaia unhinged her helmet, allowing it to rest on her shoulder held by the oxygen tube on the back. "Dear God Orion! I believed you!" She growled, well aware her face was red in rage. "I should march in there and tell him the truth! Don't you think that keeping this secret from him will only make things worse! How grave the consequences will be now for me _and_ you if we keep this charade going? I had to pull a reasonable explanation as to why I couldn't take off this damn helmet right out of my ass! Even then what I said was fucking long shot! Jesus Orion, we're in deep if we don't tell him."

Orion's head hung low, Gaia was taller then the mech, but even though she had to look down to him, his obvious hurt on this subject brought her down to his level. "You are a Captain, you would sacrifice yourself for you people and from what you told me, you had a chance to do so and took it, you almost did offline. I cannot bring this to Prime on account that I am concerned over his condition. The Decepticons are growing in numbers and power every day, Sentinel is weighed by his responsibilities as Prime. Do humans have a Prime?"

Gaia ran a hand over her face, "No, we have heroes, generals, admirals, colonels, and preterhumans. The is an occupation with _Prime_ in it's title, but nothing like this."

"There is only one Prime at a time, they carry what we call the Matrix. It is extremely powerful, in the hands of our enemies it could destroy us all. The only reason we are still able to survive and fight back is because the only Prime is on our side; fighting in our front lines." Orion stared out the window of the open and half destroyed room they stood him. "You told me when we met that humans would not take kindly to learning of a new specie in the galaxy, I do not know how mine would take action in return to yours. I know there is no way that if our two peoples contacted each other that it would be with offerings of peace rather then war."

"Fear."

Orion turned to her with bright optics, "What do you mean?"

Gaia's jaw jutted forward and her lips pursed, she didn't look to Orion but knew he didn't conceive what she meant. She was angry with him about the hard place and rock he stuck her between, but she wouldn't deny her own kind.

"We were faced with what to do when the first alien emerged upon us, they killed so many in such... vile and horrific ways." Gaia bit her lip, her face scrunched up in disgust. "We tried to talk, we didn't want to fight. Humans knew so little at the time, our ways were alien to them as well. Yeah, we did some bad things to them too, but it was out of fear. If humans caught sight of you, your planet, your war, we'd waste no time defending ourselves. I can relate truly, my crew was attacked by one of these aliens before; it was only a straggler, but their weapons acted like fresh hot lava, it generated spontaneous combustion out of an energy their planet created."

"Like lasers?"

Gaia looked at him sternly, "It was terrifying, for the first time in my life I felt scared. I watched him die." Her teeth were bared, as if seeing the memory in front of her. "I still can hear his screaming; I blew those creatures to hell. Everyone of them. I'd be lying if I said had we met in space I would've just killed you there."

Truth stung like she just stuck her hand in a wasps nest. Orion had nothing to compare the tragedy to, but Gaia served his point even more.

"That is why we cannot tell him," Orion held her shoulder tightly, "It would rip out his spark if he knew another faction had discovered us and whose intentions were no better against us then the Decepticons."

"I don't want to Orion, but I'm only going to say this once." Gaia stuck her tongue out playfully, a sad smile at her lips. "You're right, you know him better then me; I shouldn't have doubted you."

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"De Mercurio!" Gaia almost didn't recognize the voice before the face of her alarm popped in front of her face.

"Ah!" She jumped, flipping off the berth and hitting the floor opposite to her offender. "What the hell do you want?"

Orion leaned over the berth, "Are you hurt?" His amused look made Gaia leap at him, grabbing his shoulders tightly and shaking him. "No, I'm awake and that's a problem when I'm tired!"

He chuckled, a hand over hers as he pulled himself away. "I was trying to wake you more cautiously beforehand, yet you showed no sign that it was working. I had to get your attention somehow and whispering into your helmet just was not helping."

"Fine. What do you want?" Gaia groaned, collapsing back on the berth. It wasn't too comfortable, she didn't dare tell Sentinel the beds weren't up to her standards thought.

"Prime said we will be leaving here shortly, we are on our way to Iacon to inform the Council how much threat the Decepticons truly pose." Orion pointed his thumb out the door.

"Wouldn't a call just suffice? I want to go back to bed..."

With that, Orion dragged her up from her borrowed berth. "Do all humans like recharge as much as you?" Gaia was resting her weight on Orion, "We call it sleep." Orion shrugged, he didn't care too much about language differences. "And we don't _like_ it... We love it." She yawned, stretching out.

"No more time to recharge, either come with us or be left behind." Orion helped Gaia to the door, "Now act like a Captain, I want Prime to think higher of you whenever you are around him; it will make your life easier here with us."

Gaia stood upright, "I'm not seeking to impress him. If he likes me, he does for who I am not what I act like."

Orion patted Gaia's back, "Do what you need to, but making him enjoy your company will make our journey smoother. If he trusts you enough we may be able to see your crashed ship before arriving in Iacon; it is closer, but we have a deadline."

"Alright, alright, already!" Gaia threw her hands up, thundering down the corridor with Orion in tow all the way down to the main room; at which all Autobots stood around Sentinel Prime who gave out orders for the coming trip.

Orion was smiling just as Sentinel turned to the two entering.

"De Mercurio, how well can you fight?" Sentinel asked, quite abruptly to Gaia who stood a bit shell shocked. "Ah, very well Prime. I'm a Captain for more then my good looks!" She earned a few humored laughs, Sentinel grinned back to her. "If you need a weapon, request one from our Weapons Specialist; Ironhide." Sentinel pointed to a black painted mech who stood behind him.

"I'll keep that in mind Prime." Gaia listened closely as Sentinel finished the formations.

"As usual, we are in Decepticon territory, keep your optics sharp; they will be watching, we only need to be prepared for if they decided to engage us." The Autobots completed checking their weapons, Gaia was unfamiliar with the alien guns, she could only assume they were adjusting scopes to their preferences and making sure they were loaded.

"Our newest member is still Neutral, she will fight with us, fight for her too." Sentinel sent a few Autobots targeting looks; maybe they were uncomfortable with her presence. Common, most units are of a new faction.

"We will be following high streets connected to the buildings, detours may be necessary. I will not have us walking into an ambush, but I we cannot afford to be attacked on the open roads; they would be given the advantage in battle." Prowl stepped up, apparently the mech did many things.

"As Prime said, we need all the help we can get and we can only do this by keeping ourselves tight." Sentinel crossed his arms behind Prowl, the wiser mech showed a respect for his military strategist. "We will rotate every groon, we need to keep ourselves protected and ready for anything."

Gaia blinked, _Hell was a 'groon'?_

Orion didn't notice Gaia's helmet turned away from the meeting head, just listened on as Sentinel returned to the plate. "De Mercurio will be aiding us as a fellow soldier. I cannot stress this enough to you all that no one should see her as different, her experience as a Captain can help us more then we may know at this time. We move now."

She felt somewhat guilty for ignoring Sentinel's finish; she was just still trying to find out what was a groon?

"Orion?" She whispered, pulling him close beside her, "What's a _groon_?"

At first, Orion hadn't the slightest of how to reply, "Half a cycle." He quickly knew that it still didn't make sense to her. "How do humans tell time?"

"Microseconds, seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, so on and so forth. Minutes, hours, day is the daily used way to tell time. Like..." Gaia checked her HUD, "On my time today is called Tuesday. The hour is seven and the minute is forty-one. So it's seven-forty-one on Tuesday morning."

"I... don't know how to compare this. Your helmet translates our languages, should it not translate our time?" He looked oddly at Gaia who was nearly hunching over him to whisper. "Maybe I just haven't set it properly... Give me a minute."

"I would, if I knew what a _minute_ was."

Gaia checked her settings, options of languages translated, sayings, metaphors, synonyms used, until finally time appeared. It was off due to Gaia's last time using her translation device in her helmet; she had to turn the time setting off, it took far to long for a psychotic convict and her translator to work out exactly what he was talking about when he shouted about the end of the world.

"You're right Orion, surprising as that is." She elbowed him playfully, "Congrats, you've outsmarted me again."

"It is not that hard." Orion laughed, a few Autobots passing blinked their way before ignoring the two. "Thanks, just what I needed. A bit of depression never hurts."

The walk seemed to be getting longer and harder. The streets were straight, but they had no end. It was a massive maze of bottomless pits and open, dark sky. Cybertron had no daytime from what Gaia could make out, it had been hours since she arrived on the manufactured planet; since her unplanned arrival Gaia had not seen one inch of sunlight which began to bother her.

Humans needed sun just as they needed water, it was a perpetual motion of heat and cool, the percentage of water to mass and nutrients gained from sunbathing that kept humans healthy. She wouldn't die from lack of sun, but she needed to consume twice as many minerals and vitamins in order to stay strong.

As much as Gaia wanted to probe Orion for answers about the abandoned city they were in, she knew in her time on the battle field speaking while on patrol was never a good thing; usually got the patrolmen killed. Granted, they were actually a small squadron out for a pleasant stroll more then a very large patrol group with _overkill_ written all over it.

Gaia mused to herself for awhile, she knew now a groon was an hour in her time, she didn't know how she had forgotten to reset her translator options directly after silencing the maniac spouting nonsensical things about the apocalypse. Didn't matter much now.

This planet seemed to have met that psychopaths' schedule though.

With buildings crumbling, metal shards begging to fall to their doom, streets barely holding themselves up, Gaia was worried about walking over this bridge; it had no signs of supporting cables nor pillars, it was held by whatever they were connected to on each end and Gaia couldn't even see where the ends were.

She developed a new distaste for this dead planet. It was devoid of life all except the Cybertronians which any sane scientist will tell everyone they weren't _alive _like humans were; then again, they weren't human to begin with, but another specie like the ones Gaia crossed paths with.

It was easy to tell that wherever they were headed, it was a distance... they had probably been trekking it for quite some time already.

As fate would have it; Gaia took one step forward, her being ahead of the group, even more so then Sentinel and Prowl, Orion was in the near back with the other soldiers, that the moment she turned sideways she was forced away by fire and rock.

"Decepticons!"

Gaia was on the ground; she tripped a mine probably meant for Sentinel, he no doubt knew this. She wasn't dead, but walking was out of the question right about now.

_How funny,_ Gaia thought darkly, _Looks like Anthony may get what he wanted after all._

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_**Errrrrk! Stop right there!** Review replies will be posted at the top! :)_


	7. Dark Days

_**The Next Life.**_

_By Kaimaler._

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**_This is a very ambiguous chapter._ **_It delves deeper into the darker side of Autobot life and the actual pain (emotional) a human would feel had they just lost their whole world, the way in which they live, their families. It's not dead serious, it's showing Gaia's coping methods with emotional pain. So many female heroines would bawl out, crying about their lost beloveds.  
No Gaia, she's a damn Captain and isn't going to lose her nerve just because of some little spaceship accident._

_In truth, this is a more rare chapter out of me. It's also a short fight scene, it tells you why in the story! :)_

**_Bonus!_**

**_I want to see if there are many sci-fi fans as me, I realize this is a TF story, sci-fi is so far up it's-_**_(__OFF TOPIC.)  
**Tell me where the battle rifle Gaia describes to Ironhide in this chapter is from.**_

_**1.)** The origin of the offical model designation of the battle rifle._

**_2.)_**_ And t__he origin of the nickname Gaia gave the battle rifle._

**_See if you can find out where first! _**_:D_

_**Review Replies:**_

_**Teddy-wabbitz:** Yeah, not all leaders know EVERYTHING that goes on. Also, it's a plot point. :P  
Technical! And chiffhangers are so my thing.  
WHA-WHO-SHUTUP. You're so trying to give my story away! Wait, NOT WHAT I MEANT. La-la-la-la-la-la! I can't see your review! I'm blinnnnd!  
Heh, heh heh. Yeahhh. Rainbowmon, attack with bubble beam! That's the best I got...  
Prowl! That selfserving punk. I mean, he's awesome. :D (psst! don't tell him I said that!)  
Nahhh, that battle rifle is FAR to awesome.  
Yay! Thanks for reviewing. Since, you're the only one who did on the last chapter. :( But, hey! You're awesomesause, so yippe!_

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"By God..." Gaia growled, she was only faintly aware of the mech hooking his arms underneath hers and dragging her out of fire. She'd been hit by mines before, but this alien technology had a few differences. If that mine was built to simply explode and kill whomever stepped on or around it, certainly with her being alien to Cybertron and it's many advances that the injury she experienced was caused solely by her human anatomy.

"Gaia-" She figured immediately it was Orion and no one else was around to hear him, "-are you functional?" He was distracted, that much was clear. His words were muddled, thankfully her helmet received minimum damage, her translator traveled through various sections of her armor plating.

She had the worst migraine, it felt like her brain was being shaking inside her own skull, her ears rung; the sharp white noise nearly deafening her, Gaia's sight was blurry and with her adrenaline running all this was numbed considerably. She loathed the thought of what she would feel like tomorrow.

"Orion." Gaia was aware, however, that the vocal emitter from her helmet was slightly damaged, nothing irreparable though. "Are the others okay? Are you?"

She caught the shape of Orion grinning, "I have suffered no blast injuries nor has the other Autobots." He was bent over, telling Gaia they were under cover, but not the ideal cover. "Are you able to fight?"

"Hell yes." Gaia's senses still ran amuck, no excuse for lameness.

Ignoring how her arm complained about being lifted over her shoulder, that the weight of her rifle was too much to lift, Gaia yanked the weapon to her front and nodded to Orion. "Don't worry yourself; this time it's not pointing at you."

Laughing Orion pulled his own weapon out, it looked something like an automatic pistol; she still hadn't a clue what kind of gun it actually was. Another thing she put aside for later.

Grudgingly turning around, ensuring not to lift her head to high, she kneeled behind her cover; which turned out to be a half crumbled section of wall. Gaia waited, _Always remember to wait for cool down_, she lectured herself. It seemed so long that Orion had been firing and the Decepticons - she knew who it was only because she caught the cry of alarm after nearly being blown to bits - never stopped firing.

Gaia looked to her ally, Orion didn't stop to cool down either, he fired and ducked, waited, then jumped out again, not once did he let his gun cool. She cursed, of course not, this was Cybertronian technology, she had no knowledge of how their weapons worked; for all she knew they had a source of lethal energy that was weaponized and required only a short time to recharge like the Cybertronians themselves do.

Groaning, Gaia glanced over her cover, only taking a split second before being caught in enemy fire. Once more behind her cover, Gaia recounted the positions of her offenders. They had two on higher ground; stroke of bad luck for the Autobots. The main body had four on ground, three to the right and one straight ahead from Orion and herself. Probably because Orion had taken them to cover far to the left of the street they were on.

Orion clearly had the Decepticon straight ahead, the Autobots may have outnumbered them but they still had a few tactical advantages. This was more likely a scouting party that had spotted the Autobots before they could even see the scouts.

This ambush was out of convenience of the high ground in opposition to the Autobots' defense. Thanks to Prowl's plan, they still had decent cover from the onslaught.

_You can work with this; you've been in worse situations_. Gaia smiled to herself, her rifle was ready and ice cold due to the planet's normal temperatures.

Bracing herself, Gaia stood out from her cover firing at the second closest Decepticon; her rifle had excellent range and a fast firing rate, damage inflicted could be fatal to an alien specie or it would be completely ineffective.

Praying silently, Gaia watched as the Decepticon she battled personally with took the blows and crumbled to the ground; either dead or in agony. She'd find out later, for now, other Decepticons had taken aim at her.

She figured Sentinel at least already knew they could win this, but had to take down all the Decepticons, if one were to escape and report back to their leader, the trip to Iacon could be cut short by one large barricade.

Gaia could see her way out on pure instinct; something these Cybertronians seemed to lack.

Just as one Decepticon turned around, armor plates shifting as if they were no longer connected to him, Gaia turned quickly to the mech and fired, the mech knew Autobots would take advantage of his vulnerable position, but not until he was in the air trying to dodge their beams.

The Deception, now in his secondary mode, stunned Gaia momentarily. He was a vessel capable of flight now, it was impossible to function in two different bodies at once. Gaia stared at the oddly shaped fighter; she nicked him when he was taking off, he wanted to push back, a revenge shot.

Ducking behind her cover, Gaia opened the scope upgrade made to her battle rifle. Her helmet enhanced the distance while feeding her information about the space between her and her target.

The wind whipped around him, he was aerodynamic now, a clean shot on her desired target would be difficult, yet possible.

With the signatures projecting a test dramatization of her shot and how it would hit her target, Gaia aimed off to the right, a little higher, the wind would catch her burst as well as the distance at which the mech was at and how far her rifle could fire in accurately.

As soon as she saw a clear shot, her rifle lit with plasma blasts. She lowered her weapon, didn't matter if she still fired, he would be out of range by the time she fired again.

The mech, beginning to believe he was home free, cackled evilly just before the shot connected with his wing. Heat blew out his stabilizers and threw the mech off balance. Just as he began to shake and plummet to the ground, Gaia laughed in triumph.

"Take that you son of a bitch." She scoffed at the crashing mech, "Teach you to mess with me." Orion glanced over to the dying Decepticon, "Nice shot." Gaia looked his way, offering a thumbs up.

Sentinel stood, the dirt and grit slowly settling back down into the ruble. The mech was a bull's eye to any Decepticon and therefore received more scratches on his armor and as the dust clouds disappeared, Prime looked out across the battlegrounds. No one was lost on the Autobots side, though the same couldn't be said for the Decepticons.

The Autobots cautiously came out from behind their cover, each one checking various areas and hiding spots for Decepticons.

As Gaia and Orion made their way back to the group, Ratchet was the first to meet the duo.

"Did you sustain any damage when the mines went off?" He questioned, his optics scanning for visible dents in her armor. "I'm fine Ratchet, thank you for your concern. Orion here dragged me to safety, though I should've been fatally wounded from such a blow, what happened?"

"I guess you dealt with mines before, huh?" Ironhide joined them, "Since they were in such small numbers I figure they're some scouting party that ambushed us. I bet they didn't have enough time to set those things right; they went off too soon to do anything but knock ya' off your feet."

Gaia made a mental note that this Autobot, the Weapon Specialist Ironhide, sounded much like a Southern terra-farmer. Those people mostly stemmed from the Southern states in America back when the world was separated into Nations apart. She smiled at the thought; it made her feel peaceful with such a familiar voice.

"Then there is no need for me I believe. Enjoy your discussion; Prime may want me to see to the others." Ratchet sighed, leaving the three.

Ironhide only nodded and crossed his arms. "That's a nice blaster ya' got there, where's it from?"

Gaia blinked, she shouldn't be surprised, and the mech handled all weaponry after all. "It was a excellent model by itself, with upgrades I bought, it's one damn fine gal. Like I told Sentinel and Orion here, I'm from space and so is all the firepower we have. This is a Victor BR55HB SR Battle rifle with a Trijicon ACOG-style scope; it's illegal to have possession of one back home in civilian areas with it. It's served me well; I just finished installing the additional upgrades a few weeks ago."

She gave a laugh of pride, "I call it the Ratslayer."

"Range?" He knew his guns (though he knew nothing of the rifle she spoke about) as he was fond of them especially proven after Gaia's first encounter with the mech back when she was presented to Sentinel; he had two cannons ready to blow her into oblivion. "Long range, only problem with this gun is the distance varies on account of how long I've been firing it and what charges I use."

"Autobots!" Sentinel called, the three immediately searched for Sentinel's figure, easily done due to his height. "Regroup, we are moving forward to Iacon, we cannot waste any time."

Gaia saw Orion's expression; he was fine and a good fighter. She had to remember that if given a choice side with the blue and red mech, let him watch her back.

Following close behind Ironhide, the three returned to the Autobot team, Sentinel in front. Gaia wasn't swayed from walking ahead to the right of the group, she preferred her place as Captain even though she had no rank with the Autobots and with Sentinel taking all the risks, it didn't seem right. They needed him; he wasn't expendable while others were. She would take a blow for him any day.

* * *

The walk showed no signs of ending; she was hungry, thirsty, and needed to rest her tired muscles. The Autobots seemed impervious to exhaustion, they must be able to walk longer and farther then a human, they didn't work the same way as a human does, and it made sense. Yet another thing she had to learn the hard way about them.

Gaia needed to eat something this instant. She had been putting it off for quite some time, only an hour after the battle did her stomach rumble in hunger, earning a few confused looks from the Autobots.

"De Mercurio," Orion approached her, he was closest to her; natural that the Autobots silently agreed that Orion and her should be situated with or near each other. "Are you malfunctioning? The Autobots are hearing very... strange sounds from your suit. Ratchet scanned you to be safe, we are all worried."

She smiled, knowing he couldn't see but didn't mind so much. "It's something to do with what I am." She pointed to her helmet, "Y'know, the _real_ me. Remember when we met I told you I was eating, that it was necessary for my survival. Well, when I don't eat my stomach is empty and begins to hurt, this is called hunger pangs. I can live for a few weeks without eating anything, but it will inhibit my abilities to certain extent."

Orion's optics flashed, "It is painful? I am sure if I tell Prime that your condition induces this he will stop so you may recover."

Gaia felt her heart flutter in amusement, "Not that kind of pain, nothing you've ever experienced I'm sure. It's a hormone released from the hypothalamus into the receptors in my liver-" She pointed at different parts of her body, showing the origin and travel of the unpleasant feeling, "-while it isn't fatal now, we can continue without me dropping dead anytime soon. I'll have to eat something again tonight, but when we make camp."

The worry on Orion's face nearly broke the Captain's heart. He was a soldier; a young one, who merely wanted his newest friend in working order. He was obviously a soldier first when on the battlefield he dragged her to safety and instead of keeping her down he got Gaia fighting again.

Orion was dedicated and ignorant to the human anatomy or culture; she had to watch out for things she said around them, their way of life was just too different. The last thing she wanted to do is say something that offended one of these mechanical alien beings.

"If you need anything, please tell me." He laid a hand on her shoulder before Gaia patted his back and nodded her thanks. He rejoined his team behind her; to the left. She made sure the distance between them was at least several feet every fifteen minutes. Gaia watched everyone, but didn't dare walk with them. They were Autobots their own and she was not.

"-is_ red_!" A mech emphasized quietly, not enough though. Gaia barely caught the conversation and knew without a doubt she was its target. Her helmet hid her eyes darting to the two conversing mechs and with its help; Gaia enhanced the sensitivity of her audio input receivers and listened in. It was impolite to talk about someone behind their backs after all, counting that Gaia wanted to know what the bulk of the Autobots thought about her presence, it could help getting them to trust her in the long run.

"Prime says she's an ally, he decides, so bring it up with him Sunny." The red and white mech sounded exasperated of the other mech's advances. "Orion trusts her, Sentinel brought her along because he could not leave her alone and unprotected in a Decepticon controlled area. His position as Prime forces him to do so."

The red and white mech turned his attention to the mech at his side, "You're kidding, right?"

Sunny, the yellow mech beside him, mouth twitched in a frown. "Be better if she offlined a 'Con, then maybe we could trust her sensibly."

Apparently, that was all the red mech could take and whacked Sunny upside the head. "You boron compressor!" His engines grinded, "She did offline a 'Con! The one trying to run away, she took him down without a second thought. We couldn't do that, she's skilled and has a fine rifle at her side."

"We did not actually see the 'Con offline, we saw him crash. Those are two very different things." Sunny rubbed his helm, sneering at his Autobot friend.

This time, the red mech ran a hand over his face. "Give her some respect, her ship just crashed and burned, her crew is all dead, and she's alone here. From what Sentinel told us, she has no one on this entire planet that knows her or could even get her back home. Sunny just give her a chance, you never know. So stop it!"

Sunny slumped, "I still do not trust her! Like I said before, her visor is red; she might as well announce her status as a Decepticon."

"I'm sorry what?"

The two mechs nearly leaped out of their armor. The red mechs optics were twice as large, Sunny was only alarmed by her sudden drop in.

Gaia wasn't going to let Sunny continue with his accusations. She was a Captain of a UN exploration vessel, the best of its kind, and now she served the Autobots and their leaders Sentinel Prime. Such things could incriminate her in the future when her loyalty is in question if it ever is.

"I couldn't help but overhear your discussion, my helmet grants uncanny hearing." Gaia tapped the side of her helmet. She wanted to approach this matter with a skip in her step, not arguing over it that would make her look bad. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you gain by pointing out my visor coloration."

The red mech stood up for himself first, "Decepticon's optics are red, just as their symbols indicate their faction as Decepticon, their optic color functions the same. Autobot optics are blue, another give away that we are Autobots."

Gaia nodded. "Where are my manners? I'm Captain De Mercurio of the Corsair Escion and it is a pleasure to meet you, not to mention, serve beside you." She offered her hand just as she did to Orion and Sentinel before. The red mech smiled in appreciation.

"Sideswipe, and this good for nothing brother of mine is Sunstreaker." He shook her hand before jabbing his brother to do the same. Sunstreaker refused stubbornly.

"I am not going to hide my opinion of you." He glared to Gaia who innocently retreated from the mech to his brothers', Sideswipe, side. "I do not like you, how you came out of no where with Pax like that; if you really came from space and crashed you would have offlined on impact. Nothing can be even repaired from an incident like that."

"He always so tactless, or is this special treatment?" Sideswipe laughed and turned away from his brother, "Everyone, even the other Autobots. You don't have to put up with him, no one else does, they just ignore him."

Gaia wiped her forearm against her helmet like clearing her forehead. She let out an audible _phew!_ and joined Sideswipes laughter. "Good; I didn't want to be his victim of abuse."

Sideswipe grinned, coming off his high. "In all honesty De Mercurio, it is... odd that you wear a red visor around Autobots, it is a Deception symbol."

"On that account, I'd love to change it; however, I have no replacements at the moment."

Sideswipe shrugged, "It isn't a problem really, I would recommend it if you get the opportunity." She took the information; it was only after it was pointed out to her that she saw all the blue optics and face-like red symbols. She saw the faction logos before, but the bright blue optics made her feel somewhat moronic for not seeing it sooner.

As she took a step, Gaia walked straight into the back of another larger mech. stumbling backwards, Sideswipe caught her arm, she waved him off with thanks and looked to see who stopped her.

"We will arrive at Iacon by late tomorrow, in the meantime we will shelter ourselves in this outpost, the Autobots inside are prepared for us." Sentinel announced. Gaia almost didn't realize he was talking to them all; the mech ahead of her stood out and didn't notice her after she bumped into him.

Sighing, Gaia followed them inside the guarded building. The mech she ran into walked away not once glancing behind him. Her human stature made her physically weaker and was it not for her suit she couldn't even keep up with the mechanical beings, but she figured she had enough weight on her bones, her armor, and her weaponry to cause some kind of impact. If she punched a mech with her gauntlet; being that only one is functioning currently, it would do damage since it was built to crush the strongest of reinforced metals and armors.

Perhaps preparation was in order, for melee combat anyhow.

The ceiling was massive, the dome entrance was enough to impress her but the main room the Autobots were holding up in knocked her off her feet. It was as high and wide as the manufacturing level on her old Captain's frigate; he was given a raise from being a Captain on some old traveling vessel, he was getting old and didn't have the energy. Now he served the UN space military as a Colonel, controlled half a Gate frigate.

"De Mercurio." Every time her mind daydreamed back to home and her specie someone interrupted her thoughts. Either she needed to stay in one place, or tell people to stop sneaking up on her.

"Follow me." It was Orion, probably wanted more on her hunger pangs.

She did as he said and left the others, the corridors were no different then the main room, they were made for giants. Orion led her down two corridors, though a back room, and into what she had assumed as his quarters.

"I have my own berth chamber now," He gestured her to sit on a chair across the room with him. Gaia smiled as Orion locked the door and took his place opposite of the metal table. "If you need to eat, better to consume it now, you may not get another chance for sometime. Prime said we were stopping here for the night, but we do not need to rest that long. The fight back there was not anything we Autobots could not handle."

Gaia took his advice and unhooked a strap on her right side, tugging the pack to her side enough to pull out another ration. "Thanks Orion. I still think we should tell Sentinel... I do know what you said back there was right, he wouldn't have let me tag along." She clipped her pack back in place. "I'm uncomfortable with lying to a superior, an uncorrupted superior."

"Is there many on your home world; Earth?" While releasing oxygen pressure in her helmet, Gaia answered, "Many what?"

"Corrupted superiors." The helmet clicked off, the main oxygen tube on the back allowing it to rest over her shoulder without difficulty. She also removed gloves, they hand a tendency to get in the way when eating.

"Yes." She took a desperate bit of the ration bar, "Unfortunately my home world is often led by corrupt leaders. We've managed to make peace with the majority of nations on our world resulting in the United Nations or UN back in the early days, now only minority religious countries remain outside the allied forces. Our leaders are bribed by the promise of riches; their greed clouds their judgment now. It isn't as bad as it sounds though; we live happily in a racial and gender equal society."

"Racial? I thought you said humans do not allow aliens on their home world... or am I misinterpreting?" Orion was gradually confused by Gaia's description of her alien world.

"There are different races of humans. Humans are a specie with multiple _'types_' of humans, these are races." Gaia explained while chewing the ration, it wasn't proper to do so, but she was on a tight schedule and very, very hungry.

"I'm what they'd call Hispanic; I'm from a country called Spain so I am Spanish. There are multiple people categorized as Hispanic, people like Mexicans and Spanish." She learned the anatomical and genetic differences between all human races a long time ago as part of her emergency medical training, it wasn't necessary, but the trainers did it anyways.

"There is also African or African Americans depending on where they were born; generally they have darker skin then all other races, like mine. Their origin nation is Africa and since the race traveled years ago they're now also African Americans." Gaia scrutinized her own skin on her hand; it was turning a paler version of its natural caramel tone due to the lack of sun. "The most common of all is the Caucasian; they almost always have paler skin then anyone else. They're from all over the world, Russia, America, the United Kingdom, Canada, just about everywhere." Gaia chuckled, her skin was suffering without sun, the nutrient loss was substantial already.

"You are Hispanic." Orion made a new category inside his memory of the human, homo-sapiens, specie. "You also mentioned of gender, I admit I am interested in knowing if your mechs and femmes are alike ours." He was smiling, brimming with curiosity to Gaia.

"Well, I don't know that much about mechs and femmes. We have males and females, or men and women. I'm, obviously, a woman. I'm middle-aged; probably retire in the next few years, assuming of course I get home."

Orion didn't want to pry on the latter of that sentence, it would be a sore topic to him, and he saw no change in social interactions so far of human and Cybertronians. "You are middle-aged?" That was a term he never heard.

"I'm halfway through with my life, people in my line of work usually don't live very long. If my physical injuries don't catch up with me by the time I hit ninety, then the psychological harm I've encountered in my life will." Gaia scratched the side of her head. Her history was made up of injuries, some near permanent crippling. Gaia couldn't forget the crimes she'd seen in the galaxy, innocents murdered, friends killed before her. Humans could live much longer then they could before, some reach one hundred and fifty, for those living their lives in space age almost never took them, it was hundreds of years before one in a controlled environment would age normally like a human on a terraformed planet or simply Earth.

He experienced war in his life, but the desire to know what she knew was too much. He had to know what was out there, her kind, what they did, both illegal, despised and that which is idolized to the human specie.

"What damage has been brought to your psychological stability?" Orion wanted to convey his meaning, the actual sparkaching pain he felt that this alien was going to die before her time. From everything he knew about Gaia, she was friendly, a good leader, someone the Autobots would want as a commander. She was passionate about what she believed and that was all he needed to think highly of her.

"Children turned to slaves; men mutilated and put on display, woman exploited." Gaia wasn't looking at him nor eating after a day of starvation. She was staring into nothingness; a memory captured her, many in fact. "When the Corsair was built and I stationed on her, I was young, naive. The Captain warned us of the things we'd see; I just smiled and kept thinking that I'd be a hero one day."

Orion watched her alien optics; they had so much more detail then his own. They were thousand of hues, the black dot in the center changed sizes rapidly, the white was so bright and glossy. Her optics to him spoke so many words, told multitudes of stories he wasn't capable of comprehending. He couldn't catch them when they flicked side to side, he could see more emotion in them then any other Cybertronians.

Only this time her optics gave him a new visual, one of emptiness. She had a battle scar on her spark; he only wanted to see it, to know it.

"My friends died, Anthony's amputation didn't go easily. We were on an uncharted world under the control of a notorious Scavenger. It was my fault, we all knew it. I was... young, brash, and full of foolish heroism." Gaia shook her head, she heard the explosions, and Anthony's pleads. "I took up the mantle of First Lieutenant, our Captain was captured and it was my duty to bring him back. Anthony wasn't my Military Tactician, he was my Captain's and I failed that day. It... Hurts to admit it. Anthony cursed my bones that day; said he wanted the same to happen to me."

Gaia took a mad bite out of the ration bar. "I was nervous, I was terrified. My naivety cost us our best. I never held power over a squad before then, I wasn't ready. The Captain knew it and when he got back... he pulled me aside, I took a vacation, to get my head on straight."

"And what happened today, a mine went off; did you think of him? I would have." Orion admitted, "My friends have died in this war too, Prime will not allow the war to overcome our morale, he denies it and believes he can fight it off if only he had enough power behind him. He is right though, his spark is right where we need it to be; on the side of good."

"I'm glad." Gaia smiled to Orion, he hadn't noticed she broke out of her trance. "I have a deal to keep with Sentinel though, told him I'd share something of my world in order for you to be my bodyguard too. I'm sure he would've made you do it anyways, but I'm interested in the trust it can build."

Standing, Orion went and unlocked the door. Gaia quickly pulled her gauntlets and the gloves under them right back on. He helmet was a quick step, reattaching the wires and pressure cables was easy.

"Go and make good on your deal."

Making sure her helmet was secured; Gaia quickly noticed she hadn't a clue where Sentinel would be. It didn't matter; if she wandered aimlessly about the base for a while she could navigate through it by herself easily. Begging the question, did Sentinel forget to assign her bodyguard today? And who is it if there is any?

She shrugged to herself, she knew Autobots would watch her anyways and as long as she remained in the common areas no one would suspect her of anything.

Not to mention she could acquaint herself with more Autobots.

Speak of the devil... Gaia walked to the main room, the massive dome still stunned her. It was damaged and sure it couldn't sustain itself if someone attacked this base, but that was attractive to Gaia; she would use it to trap her enemies, if it was her base that is.

"You there, the Captain right?" A worn green mech stood beside her, Gaia jumped in surprise; she had to stop drifting off! "Yes sir." She held her hand out. "Captain De Mercurio of the Corsair Escion."

He accepted, "Call me Kup." He grinned widely, his voice was crackled and aged, reminded her of her ex-Captain. "Pleasure to meet you." The two returned to Gaia's amusement; the high ceiling.

"Heard you came from space, some kinda' station up there building space cities and worthy ships." He stared at the ceiling with Gaia; she figured if she couldn't admire their architecture without being judged then she really didn't care what they thought of her.

"You heard correctly. I'm an explorer; I go from system to system searching for various things, from riches to technology, biological advancements and natural exploration." She tilted her head, "I'm nothing out of the ordinary, my ship was, but I'm just a Captain."

"Prime's takin' a liking to you though, good enough for me I say." He pointed to a spot on the ceiling; a patched hole it seemed. "That's when Ironhide got dropped by some Decepticon Seeker, he held onto that 'Con for a good while before being tossed off." He laughed heartily, "That trigger-happy mech's pride was mortally wounded, to hear him say it though, it was a courageous act."

Gaia giggled, "My pilot was like that, a bit too interested in himself... and his ego naturally."

"Always someone in a crowd." Kup sighed happily, "It's good to have you aboard, we reach Iacon tomorrow I'm sure Prime'll give you place with us. You seem good company, I ain't picking favorites though." The mech winked, Gaia was certain these Cybertronians had humanity built inside their metal frames; this man was exactly like her Captain.

"You know where I can find Sentinel, I've been looking for him and I got sidetracked." Kup turned around and pointed to the far right corridor, "Down there, third on the left, can't miss it. He'll be holed up in there with Prowl; that mech loves to fill Sentinel's processor with plans and operations..." He cackled, offering little more then a wave goodbye.

"I'll see you around Kup." Gaia nearly jogged down the halls, she had a rather depression talk with Orion earlier and was looking for someone to cheer her up. She did that every time she was in a bad mood on the Corsair Escion, people darted out of her way when she arrived from a mission gone wrong. Gaia once caught a technician jumping into the maintenance chute after arguing with her senior pilot.

That mangy man kept her on edge all the time, as if living with him wasn't hard enough.

Gaia counted the doors and came to a slow stop, peeking inside, she politely knocked on the door frame seeing as there was no door. "Sentinel, are you busy?"

Prime faced her, inside was Prowl; just as Kup predicted. "No, come in De Mercurio."

"I wanted to talk, we had a deal and I figured better now then later." She chuckled nervously, Prowl was holding a strong gaze. It made her locked in position; she had no way to rebuttal properly as her eyes were shielded by a visor. He'd just stare at the red tinted protection all night.

"Yes we did. Prowl, would you mind postponing this for a later time?" Prowl nodded and pushed himself from the metal table holding the holograms of his plans.

He brushed past her, he hated being interrupted on such an important task, but he and Prime were speaking since they settled into the base. He would be lying if he said grabbing some high-grade sounded wonderful right now.

Gaia took a few uneasy steps inside. She had been so anxious to speak with him she didn't know what to talk about now. It was tempting to smack herself, but withheld her own human insanity for a later date.

"I had a few questions, something's I have pondered on today." Sentinel sat in a throne-like metal chair, Gaia assumed his weight would be hard to sustain on the usual seating she saw around, even just fit on due to his enormous size. She spotted a smaller chair near him and silently took her place.

"I want to know more about you as a femme De Mercurio." She remembered the Cybertronian term for a woman from Orion. "Here on Cybertron some know our creators, they are few in number though. Do you have brothers or sisters?"

She came to be cheered up, not to talk about family. It was dark to think she'd never see any of them again. "Yes, one younger brother. He's back home; he's not part of the military."

"It is expected for siblings to follow each other, especially the older. Is this different or is there another reason?"

"Back home soldiers are held as heroes, just about all of them. People cheer them on when they leave for war, they cry happily when they return, and are well respected if they die in war or outside of it." _Tell the truth, that's not it._ Gaia leaned on the arm of her chair. "My brother he's unable to join the military. He has a disease that keeps him from it; I would go on Sentinel... I don't really want to talk about him if you don't mind. Ask something else, anything."

Sentinel understood, he knew many taken from their place by one thing or another. He was a good mech, he wasn't going to force answers out of her on a painful subject.

"I only want to know more about you personally, is there something you can speak of smoothly?" Sentinel remained stoic, his hand rested on his chin in a thoughtful expression. Gaia preferred this mech over some, she knew he was a lawful good and liked him for that specifically.

"I am married. I had husband, he was the senior pilot on the Corsair Escion." She smiled, how she wished to express her love of the annoying husband of hers more openly.

"Married?"

_Oh no, a human term not used here. _Gaia snapped at herself. "When a mech and a femme love each other where I'm from, we join in ceremony to become a bonded pair. When two become one, an old saying I heard at my wedding; the ceremony at which we were bonded."

"Sparkmate." He stated, "That is what we call it. Though we do not have a ceremony for this, it is noticed by any and all that see the sparkmates."

"Ah, well then. We were sparkmates." She lazily laughed at the word, so alien to her ears. "We've been sparkmates for years, he went down with the Corsair though; I survived out of luck, he couldn't have."

"I am sorry for your loss."

"Seems I should be saying that to you Sentinel," Gaia looked out the door, "Orion's been telling me about a few things, he asked me some about my home and he told me about Cybertron and this faction war you got going on."

Sentinel huffed, a weak sound of humor from the large mech. "I wanted to talk to you to get my processor off this war."

The two entered an unspoken agreement, what they had to say was disheartening. News of war, mind-numbing, talking of a civilization in space, lost and never seen by its missing Captain. Neither wanted to speak of their time, their lives, it all ended with where they were at now.

No one wanted to be here.

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_**Errrrrk! Stop right there!** Review replies will be posted at the top! :)_


	8. Iacon on the Horizon

_**The Next Life.**_

_By Kaimaler._

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_**Review Replies:**_

**_Dragon260:_**_ Yeah, AU is kinda' hard to get people interested. They only want to think "G1" or "Dreamwave" and not bother to put their minds at work studying the aspects of a new Universe.  
Mine, however, is generally G1, a few twists here and there. Ones pointed out more in this chapter I believe.  
And I'm glad you like it, I assumed many people wouldn't, it is a very detailed, very busy story; readers have to really pay attention to the smallest things. They may pop up again: who knows! :)_

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They started early, too early for Gaia's tastes. In the past short camps were made in order to stay elusive against larger numbered enemies, but this was going to become a problem for her.

She wasn't going to be the one to complain, she didn't want to be set out from the crowd any more then she already was. On the streets of this massive manufactured planet, Gaia was away from the team, like an unwelcome tourist.

There as a growing threat to Gaia; her oxygen tanks would compress external air in order to reach the density of air on Earth. It was working fine, no punctures in her suit, minimum exposure to the outside kept her body oxygen levels in the correct area. The threat stemmed from something her suit couldn't pick up, perhaps a naturally occurring gaseous compound like the non-existent one she informed Sentinel about.

Whatever was tainting the oxygen within her suit; she needed to deal with it when given the chance. While it had no affect on her currently, she learned the hard way to be weary of the long run.

This once mission to infiltrate the Autobots under Orion's guidance quickly turned into surviving in a pecking order. There were almost sections of Cybertronians that had their own place in the faction just as there were in the Decepticon ranks as Orion explained to her.

The two she spoke to some time ago were twins, Sideswipe was much more submissive then his brother Sunstreaker, who believed himself to be the best of all Autobots and wasn't afraid to let the others know it. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were seldom apart from one another, the two mechs took twins to a whole new level being that they refused to separate.

It was fine though, Sentinel seemed to prefer it that way. Sideswipe almost served as the voice of reason to Sunsteaker's consistent baseless boasting. Almost.

Kup was important, the worn green mech was apparently as well known as Sentinel himself was. The older mech told war stories to the others, though some spited them solely on the fact that Kup couldn't keep to one story he'd usually cut off to another story after reminding himself of some other notable time in his long past.

Speak of the devil, Kup was reciting one now. Gaia didn't mind the stories; she enjoyed the last one he did. Something about a femme, a Decepticon, a Quintessicon, and himself. Gaia listened for a while, the story was basic, but when the pink femme appeared, holding a blaster at Kup's helm, the story became hilarious.

Gaia hadn't a clue what a Quintessicon was, but it sounded somewhat creepy to her.

Aliens were always strange to her, but Cybertronians proved her previous paranoia around them incorrect. Gaia had a weakness when it came to fighting the brutal alien the human race faced before, but these mechanical organic beings that survived on this war-ridden world were so human she often forgot she wasn't on an abandoned colonist world.

The number of Autobots she traveled with was greater now that they took some with them from the last base. There was this scientist and inventor that came out in Decepticon territory on an Autobot base to study some possible future specialized weaponry for their faction, Ironhide swore he'd never use one, that's all Gaia needed to know; if the Weapon Specialist refused the equipment, she'd side with him. This inventor went by the name Wheeljack, she hadn't met him personally, but he seemed to talk to everyone, one time he passed by her going on about boron's touching his tools.

Then proceeded to complain about the event in detail to Gaia when she was simply walking down the hall.

That won top spot for odd things around the Autobots.

Gaia coughed, she was doing that more lately; it always caused strange glances from the Autobots, thankfully they believed her and simply disregarded the cough as something the Neutral traveling with them does.

Right now, they reached a problem.

Gaia had no second thoughts about it, when approaching the massive pitch-black tunnel; she flicked on her helmet lights and the flashlight on her gun and proceeded while others had paused.

"De Mercurio!" Orion stopped her. She saw the Autobots still, each waiting for Sentinel's decision. "There could be a Decepticon ambush inside, wait for Prime's word."

She was separate from the Autobots, off ahead, to the side. She would've walked straight in without a care in the world. Perhaps Decepticons had notoriety for attacking Autobots in the dark of neglected tunnels. It would explain the Autobots' unease with entering its mouth.

"I can do it." She stood in front of Sentinel, "I can lead you through the tunnel, no problem. If Decepticons are inside it'll be a problem." Gaia kicked the shredded metal shards and rubble at her feet.

"Walking straight into a tunnel like that? A 'Con could be sitting inside just for you; it's a quick way to get yourself offlined. Even with our headlights there's too much we'll miss." There was quick agreement with Sideswipe from the others. Sentinel ignored his troops. "This is the fastest route to Iacon, with missing Decepticons from the patrol group we fought off, we will have pursuers."

"I can see too Prime," Wheeljack stood up to the plate, "I developed an optical enhancement that allows me to brighten the walls around me using reflective surfaces, while it only works for the user I can help De Mercurio through the tunnel. Even without headlights, De Mercurio and I could see far while you see closer objects."

Gaia shrugged, her rifle resting in her hands, "We hit a dark tunnel like this, and we turn on our nightvision. The HUD in my helmet allows me to see in the darkest of areas just like the scope on my rifle does. I thought you would've had that..." She mumbled the latter to herself. _Not advanced enough._

"We do not have much time; Decepticon will be behind us and possibly ahead inside this tunnel." Sentinel sighed, "I am going to test our trust De Mercurio, if you believe you can do this, I will ask you do. If we turn back and find another way to Iacon, the path will be much longer and riddled with Decepticons. At this point we have no choice. Take the lead."

Gaia smiled, "You got it Prime." Wheeljack looked equally excited, from what Gaia heard, he was both well respected by the Autobots and a nuisance when inventions go wrong.

"Autobots!" Gaia alerted the group, "You're following me. I will expect you do as I say when I say it, this'll be a hard task but we're going to move fast. If there are Decepticons inside, I expect everyone to get down. Don't try to fire back, just stay down." Gaia instructed while walking to the mouth of the tunnel.

If the Autobots did try to open fire at an invisible enemy, they'd probably hit each other.

"Follow close, make absolutely certain that you can see the group at all times." The Autobots were close behind, "Wheeljack and I will be ahead of you the whole way, if we see something, you'll know. There is a draw back to my nightvision however, do not point any of your lights in my line of sight, I will be temporarily blinded if you do."

Sentinel looked ahead, each Autobot flashed on their headlights as they began their descent down the tunnel.

Gaia trained her rifle down the tunnel, her helmet slowly turning into nightvision as it grew darker inside the unlit tunnel. She could hear the Autobots behind her, every now and then she checked and counted out the group and returned to the task at hand.

Wheeljack easily stayed by her side, his optical enhancement using natural reflection of common surfaces was a good idea, but it wouldn't be nearly as clear as her nightvision. She had the feeling she and Wheeljack were the horses pulling the wagon and Sentinel was the driver.

She laughed at her own daydreaming, the tunnel was clear so far; she felt she could indulge her humorous side at least for a short time.

A bright light flashed in her eyes, her screen went a powerful shining white, like looking into the sun on Earth. Gaia cried out, bending an arm over her visor. "What the hell!"

Wheeljack cringed, "Oh right, sorry." He held his hands up in defense, "I forgot, I didn't mean to do that, heh." He turned off the lights, standing at her side now.

Gaia growled, this Autobot was going to become her first problem in this dark tunnel. "It's alright, just watch yourself next time. Now, what do you want?" The Autobots behind them heard Gaia, then Wheeljack apologizing. She caught a few snickers before they were silenced by Sentinel.

"Nothing actually, I was just wondering that, after we leave this Primus forsaken tunnel, how about you tell me how your dark vision works?" She could tell the inventor was smiling eagerly, his mask covered half his face, so his optics would tell her his expressions instead, but it was difficult. Now she knew how Orion and Sentinel must think when she's trying to reply with a smile.

"It's nightvision," Gaia corrected, tapping her red visor, "And I don't know how to make it, but I can do what I can later."

"That'd be great." He must've been smiling from side to side, his optics nearly closed with the excitement in his voice. "That's all." He stood a few feet away; he would glance in her direction at times, but didn't say anything more. Not to her anyways, he was trying to figure something else out by grumbling about it to himself.

So long as she wasn't his victim like the time they met, she was more then happy to let him work it out alone.

It was a good while before Gaia saw a blinding white light in their path. Turning her nightvision off, Gaia stood underneath it, she needed to rest her eyes from seeing all green and black. It had improved greatly over the years, new breakthroughs with different visions, those designed to scan electronics became a high demand product, and nightvision now was built to shut off immediately when too much light bounced off the tool. There were far too many cases of soldiers dying because someone threw a flash bang their way and the nightvision permanently or even temporarily rendered them incapable of anything but hiding.

If they could find a place to hide, this was one percent of the soldiers downed in battle when on a night recon mission wearing the common equipment.

Gaia was no better then these soldiers, now with a ten second reboot sequence, nightvision became much safer.

There was a distinct clanking of metal feet around her. "Recharge Autobots, our guide seems to require one." Sentinel was considerate to his people and to her; she figured the mech was most likely just concerned over her '_medical_' problems.

_Damn Orion..._ Gaia glared helplessly to the red and blue mech, eventually they'd tell Sentinel, but with every minute that passed by fear crept into her mind, the two leaders built a trust based on words and actions like Gaia took with the Decepticon patrol group the day before. When the secret was broken and Sentinel learned of her status as a human, what would he do?

"Did Wheeljack damage your optics?" Orion smiled casually. Gaia swore the mech always looked like there wasn't a problem in the world, even when he showed himself worried over Gaia's physical health after nearly being blown up, he still looked calm.

He was better at it then Gaia was and it made her pathetically jealous.

"Nah Orion." She glanced side to side; the Autobots were discussing something Gaia couldn't care less about. While Sentinel was interested in Gaia and Orion, he kept his distance. The two obviously wanted to talk freely as Gaia led Orion Pax away from the group.

"You're beginning to make me uncomfortable Gaia, what is wrong?" Orion knew fine well any Autobot couldn't hear them, so she relaxed with him. "I'm feeling it more now then before, lack of sun, not enough nutrients. Humans are supposed to be capable of surviving a very long time without such things if they were bountiful with them in the past, but it's like your world, Cybertron, is sucking necessary minerals out of me every time I breathe this air."

"There has only been a few times when you removed your helmet though." Gaia sighed while Orion showed his compassion for the misplaced alien by holding her shoulder steady. "My suit pressurizes air from outside of itself when there is an external source which is what I've been doing since I arrived, I'm breathing Cybertron's oxygen now, and I think there's a poison in the air my suit can't identify."

"A poison? I suppose you mean one that is only toxic to..." Orion scanned quickly around them; trying to insure himself no one was listening in, "-you, as what you are, can be affected by."

"Correct," She sighed, "Orion, you've been a great ally to me so far; with all these growing factors I need to get to my ship faster, else I die before a rescue team even picks up a mayday."

"Give me a second." Orion turned around, donning a face Gaia only understood as an alien expression of determination. As he left her side, she watched as he stood in front of Sentinel, being forward about Gaia's problem.

Wait. Her problems, no! She wasn't complaining, simply answering Orion's usual worry over her since she owes him her life. Now he's talking to Sentinel about the Neutral who is slowly suffocating on their home world.

_Dammit, Orion._ Gaia cursed and spotted Sentinel looking up to her then back to Orion, replying swiftly and sternly; Orion nodded and left his leader for Gaia.

"After Iacon, we will be heading in the direction of where we believe your ship crashed." Gaia groaned and lightly shoved Orion; he was confused to say the least. "I didn't want you to go tell Sentinel, he has minimal trust in me as it is, whining over something isn't going to help. Now I'm an extra party and a burden."

"You are not a burden," Orion rested both his hands on her shoulders, "You are a friend in a hostile place, we, as Autobots, need to help you; if only to distance ourselves from the Decepticons even more."

"Make yourself known; save an alien." She laughed, "Great charity advertisement... Right now let's get going, Decepticons will be right behind us."

Gaia reproached the resting Autobots and signaled them to move forward just as she reclaimed her position at the head of the Autobots, Wheeljack in tow beside her.

Exiting the tunnel was easy, her audio receivers even picked up a distant sound. A familiar voice though, like the one she heard when she first met Orion with the barrel of her rifle; it was Decepticons, they're in the tunnel. Just as soon as she picked it up she snapped to Sentinel's direction. "Decepticons, behind us!"

The Autobots took action, leaving the exit of the tunnel in hopes to find a more defensible position; though none was to be seen. It was assumed that there were more Decepticons in this group then the previous. They could bet this squad was based solely on finding the Autobots that downed their patrol group.

They probably weren't expecting Sentinel Prime to be on this team and the team itself to be so large.

Gaia aimed her rifle down the tunnel while Autobots searched for the best cover they could find. "We need to keep moving, they have the advantage of cover; we don't."

Sentinel was already planning a strategic retreat to more suitable position; Gaia's backing his idea only reinforced him. "Autobots, fall back!" Orion was a bit surprised he took Gaia's suggestion and took Gaia's side just as the Autobots began the retreat.

When fire erupted, it was from Gaia's rifle into the tunnel, she wanted the Decepticons to believe they had spotted them; it would hold them up, force them into cover while the other Autobots prepared their own defense.

It was immediate that the Decepticons fired back, nearly clipping Gaia more then once. She turned and ran with the rest of the Autobots, occasionally flipping around, running backwards and firing wildly into the dark tunnel. Gaia couldn't use her nightvision out in the open with the radiating light from below; she'd be blinded, completely useless.

For now, finding a better hiding spot was the best option. With her back to the Autobots, still firing at the Decepticons in the tunnel, Gaia glanced behind her, spotting the cover where Wheeljack and another Autobot, who she learned was a mech named Fastback. Peculiar name.

Once nearing the cover, Gaia stepped up, still pointing to the tunnel where the Decepticons were just emerging from, and jumped behind cover. Her rifle blasted shot after shot; she was beginning to hate these Decepticons with a passion. If they continued to slow down the Autobots trek to Iacon, it now meant it would take longer to reach her ship; courtesy of Orion.

The battle wouldn't last long, they didn't send enough Decepticons to deal with a moving squadron of Autobots and the leader of them all; Sentinel Prime.

They were right, it was a larger squad; one seemingly shocked by Sentinel's presence.

The tables were turned, the Autobots held the upper ground while the Decepticons dealt with a Prime overpowering them; it wasn't long until they realized the impossible.

"Decepticons, retreat!" A loud voice rang in Gaia's audio receivers before she witnessed the same physical abnormality. The Decepticons changed shape, metal fell and reattached itself at other places until they all formed transportation. Gaia stared, she had seen the patrol Decepticon yesterday do that, but she couldn't figure out _how_.

As the Decepticons began to fly away, the Autobots continued firing until they were finally out of range.

Gaia shook her head, snapping her attention back to the Autobots who were now regrouping as they had done before. Ratchet checking over any wounded, unfortunately, a mech Gaia didn't know was hit. It wasn't a mortal wound, simply a flesh wound, or armor damage. She scrunched her face in question, what the hell do Cybertronians call a flesh wound?

"I guesstimated the possibility of you being shot De Mercurio, it was too high." Orion gave her an expectant look, "You are a Captain to your vessel, not here. Sacrificing yourself on the battlefield to protect your people is not your responsibility anymore; you are a soldier here."

"Habit." Gaia shrugged, laughing as the mech replied by swinging an arm around her shoulders, "Thank you anyways, more would have been shot had Prime and you not covered our backs."

"Sentinel was there? Heh, too busy to tell I guess." The two watched while Prowl reassessed their direction.

"We need to head down the left road-" It was a crossway, the street they were on split into a Y-junction. Prowl pointed Sentinel to the left street, "-and there is a six-way intersection, we will need to go the second on the right, from there it is a straight walk to Iacon; so we should be able to see Iacon's dome after we pass these towers."

"We are almost there." Orion smiled, "It has been far too long since I was at Iacon."

Gaia could only guess this city, Iacon, wasn't just a city to them from how the Autobots were getting excited. It must've been a headquarters, a peaceful ground where no Decepticon's reigned.

"We will make it in time for you to meet with the Council, Prime." Prowl concluded, stepping back so Sentinel could take the lead once more.

Orion and Gaia now walked side by side, she was closer to the Autobots now; she could see they appreciated her aiding them through the tunnel. Orion showed his the best because he knew her much better then anyone else.

The walk went on, they followed Prowl's directory to the letter. As a few streets passed, Gaia starting to become tired, hungry and thirsty, they finally reached the last road to take.

Prowl was right again.

Orion lightly tapped Gaia's shoulder, pointing down the road beside her; to Iacon.

Gaia looked up, taking a deep breath of stun at seeing the magnificent golden dome that was Iacon. It was massive; the term itself couldn't describe how huge it really was. She had never seen anything like it; sure there were cities with domes that surrounded them, some of a clear metal some out of plasma shields. This was an architectural marvel.

The Autobots were more then pleased, their cries of joy and relief were enough to lighten the darkest of moods.

Its golden beauty reflected the light below it; the gigantic plates that obviously made up the dome of Iacon only served its shocking appearance.

"That is Iacon, the home of the High Council Pavilions."

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_**Errrrrk! Stop right there!** Review replies will be posted at the top! :)_


	9. History

_**The Next Life.**_

_By Kaimaler._

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_**Review Replies:**_

_**Great Diabla Assassin:**__ D'awww, all reviews count. =) So thanks!  
Took me a while to update, I've accepted two Beta Reader jobs from different people, one writes 13,000 words a chap and another 14,000. One can't write perfect English because it's not their native tounge and the other has to rush through writing._

_A lot of typos/misspellings/mistakes.  
Lots. But, it's fun. =D_

_Anyways, this chapter is 7,836 words long, I'm trying to make then longer so people like them more. Right now we're getting our first look at the future Gaia has on Cybertron with or without the Autobots.  
The pace will be quickened here soon, more battles, more drama, more "Holy shit, you're going to die you idiot!" moments. Which I am looking forward to writing._

_The best upcoming chapter that I hope crowns my life as an author here on FF will be when Gaia arrives at the Corsair, where her reunion with the destroyed vessel should spark some sadness in my readers. I am evil and I hope you cry when that chapter is published. =3_

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"I cannot wait." Orion was brimming with joy, "The last time I was in Iacon was months ago; I did not stay long then, this time with Prime seeing the High Council Pavilions we can recharge in a safe place finally."

Gaia listened contently, Orion really missed this city. They only just took off from their initial stop to let relief set in. She was somewhat confused though; how could one city mean so much, even if it was the home of their leaders and the Autobots? Gaia had a home like that, it was Earth; somewhere in the middle of nowhere Gaia planned to buy a house secluded from the metropolis', the few places on Earth that remained natural under conservationist rule.

It was interesting watching Orion as he ached to run to his home; was he born here? Scratch that, _created_ here? If so, what about family, brothers and sisters, mother and father? Did Cybertronians even have that kind of genetic family or was it something completely different?

Personal questions ran through her head like wildfire, she didn't mind it, enjoyed all the new inquiries she'd make to Orion once they reached the city and Sentinel attended his meeting with the High Council. It would be information she'd learn, perhaps it would be exchanged, and Orion explained family life to her while she gave him more insight to her alien world.

Oddly enough, it was becoming alien to her as well. This built planet; Cybertron, was easily the equivalent of Earth if the Metropolis' engulfed the planet.

She didn't like the mechanical vibe the planet gave her, but she was beginning to remember why she was fond of open fields, forests, and farms now. Machines were just too damned complicated; she wasn't going to live with them for her entire life, especially not the last years of her long life.

While there were towers that put some of Earth Metropolis' to shame, this Iacon served a far more important role in the Autobots life rather then being their home base. Gaia interpreted their skyrocketing mood as Iacon, instead of a fortress, a peaceful city where they could live without fear of Decepticons and reunite with old friends, perhaps even families if they have that.

Gaia looked at Orion, to the Autobots, and to Sentinel. Kup was an old warrior while Sentinel was a "chosen one" per se, one Prime exists at a time and only one, any more would contradict the belief that the living Prime holds the Matrix; a key to great power.

What does the Matrix do? Gaia looked around Sentinel's form, she saw no baggage, no item he carried in his hand; maybe the Matrix is left in a place only a Prime knows and only he has the ability to access the power stored within this mysterious relic.

She could only guess that whatever this Matrix was; it served as a symbol to the Autobots.

The Captain felt an unfamiliar sting in her pride; she was lost, a lone wanderer on a desolate world inhabited only by a warring people, each side devoted to eliminating the other. That usual battle hunger should have been enough for Gaia to recognize the damage thrust upon the manufactured planet.

It was a downright oddity to her; the Autobots served as a way to reach salvation, a route off this dead planet. Somehow, her curiosity kept her pondering more on the mechanical alien race beside her rather then the condition of the radio on board what was left of the Corsair Escion's rusting skeleton.

Sentinel already knew the urgency of returning Gaia to her ship was something to consider in terms of time and limitations; her people were still a mystery for him to solve (one he suspected he may never truly uncover completely) but the life of someone proven to not be a Decepticon and instead a good natured being was beginning to etch its way to the front of his already busy processor.

Gaia was, in all respects, a leader of the people. She had nearly sacrificed grave injuries from the Decepticon forces in order to defend the Autobots' backs while they retreated into deeper cover and she did so without a second thought, a soldier like her would be invaluable to the war effort.

But she was not to be his, she was a visitor on his world and he reminded himself of the fact anytime she peaked his interests. This time, it was due to Orion's observations and reports as a guard to the ex-Captain, Sentinel found he had more reasons to be concerned with the traveler then he previously believed.

While he couldn't venture into the outskirts of Iacon without a viable reason, he could send a team to escort her safely to the downed vessel; from there he hadn't a clue as to what would happen. If she wasn't an ally and ambushed his people then he'd loose valuable soldiers. At this time in the outbreak of war, he couldn't risk such a thing.

He was outside of Iacon only because a growing mass of Decepticons were meeting Southeast of Iacon, a cause for great concern. With haste and order from the Council, he left with nearly an army of honorable warriors to meet this threat helm-first.

It was a success; one Sentinel was greatly relieved by.

The Decepticons had not yet a chance to predict their arrival since outposts failed miserably at their mission to alert them to any danger and miraculously not by any interference on the Autobots part. They didn't want to alarm the Decepticons, instead they took a quieter, though much longer, path to the small army Megatron had devised for himself.

Ah, Megatron. He wasn't there, of course he wouldn't, that would be too sweet a victory had the Autobots defeated his horde in front of him before justly bringing him down with them.

Sentinel didn't dwell of possibilities. The necessity of their company will be decided by the High Council Pavilions during his meeting with them.

Her presence was almost too much for him to deal with; not like he'd admit to it, but her grand entrance to them through Orion's normal kindness was something all too disturbing. Had she not spoken up and Orion not stood up for her, he'd deny it.

He could lie to himself like that easily; if she didn't convince him otherwise he'd never let her join them. He betrayed his own trust; he would've invited the visitor anyhow. There was nothing that could hurt his spark worse then believing he left an innocent to their fate on an unknown world.

Insisting that Orion's strong conviction actually coerced him, Gaia stood by his side today. It hadn't been long, not too eventful after a battle like the ones the Autobots' with him and narrowly survived.

He was also surprised by her enmity to the Autobots as a whole.

No time for hindsight now, however, they were just arriving at the gates to Iacon and that meant it was time to call the outposts to request entry.

Gaia stood by as Sentinel withdrew from the Autobots, she didn't worry, the mech was smart enough to dictate all his actions and reactions rationally. For now, she took comfort in releasing the past anxiety and reveling in Orion's closeness.

The mech was a marvel, not just because he was part of a specie that existed solely of organic machinery. His heart, or spark as his kind called it, was of a material Gaia hunted down with ferocity when she was building her crew for the Corsair Escion. He would've made a perfect First Lieutenant.

"Prowl, contact Iacon; tell them we are on approach and request entry." Sentinel kept straight ahead, Gaia momentarily thought this city was more like a fortress if people have to '_request entry_' instead of just flashing an ID and heading on through.

_Hmpf, aliens_. Gaia chuckled to herself and listened in on Prowl.

"This is Autobot Military Strategist Prowl; we are on route to the Iacon gates. I travel with a small squad of Autobots and Sentinel Prime. We are requesting entry to Iacon." The Autobot held a hand on his helm, almost like Gaia would in battle whenever she was trying to command a teammate or and outside force. Aside from his hand actually touching the top of his helm; Gaia saw little difference.

"We respectfully request permission for a Cybertronian-" Gaia blinked as she watched Prowl glance to her, she guessed he was wondering if she heard him, '-she has never previously been granted entrance to Iacon; though she accompanies us on Sentinel Prime's wishes."

Gaia certainly hoped it wasn't just Sentinel's now, Orion was a nice mech, but it was the groups' approval that would affect her in the long run.

"De Mercurio, do you have any form of identification?" Prowl spoke above the conversing Autobots, "Aside from what I can supply through my HUD, no." He seemed to mull that around in his helm for a moment before reaching a conclusion. "It would be best if the issue of her citizenship was brought up only within Autobot jurisdiction."

Gaia glanced worriedly over to Orion, it sounded like everything was well after Prowl didn't reply and no one else showed signs of concern. She just didn't feel right after hearing '_within Autobot jurisdiction_'; it almost sounded like they weren't going to let her in if it wasn't on Sentinel's personal request.

Orion hadn't even flinched when Prowl asked her about ID, perhaps a non-Autobot party was more common then not.

She sighed lightly, whatever that little deal was about, it was over; in the past and didn't require her attention any further.

After the walk to the front walls of Iacon, they finally reached the gate doors. It took a few seconds before the doors moved and when they did, it only surprised Gaia more. The two great, golden doors shifted into slots in the walls, pulled to each side.

It wasn't the opening of Iacon's gates that astonished her, rather the lights not previously seen to her eyes on Cybertron.

Iacon held a great contrast from the Cybertron she knew so far. The brilliant lights, alien words, and livelihood was a shock to her system. It produced a sense of instinct within Gaia's mind. She knew Earth's metropolis' at night, more famously; Las Vegas, known for the exciting atmosphere. It was immediately that Gaia took sense of all valuables she carried, those not tightly connected to her suit.

She almost laughed at herself for such an assumption. Nothing she carried would provide value to these people, not only that, but this was also a military stronghold; no one would try something so menial when their leader stood just ten feet from the possible victim.

Instead, she focused on her surroundings, dropping mental breadcrumbs in case drastic measures needed to be taken.

Landmarks served perfectly, on Earth at least, the alien language and symbols could easily be mistaken for another in her human oriented brain. Granted, the other Autobots were probably so used to these symbols that it became as easy as remembering the alphabet.

They were descending, that was about the extent of Gaia's internal directory and without a proper map of any sort all she could do was read her HUD compass; they were heading northwest, and that was all.

Though in the event of escape or Decepticons, which she doubted, but her life exploring the galaxy told her not to take unnecessary risks; chasing the walls would be easier. Granted, much of the city towered over her and if they were heading underground it would become extremely difficult, it was better then nothing. She'd have to rely on the compass and Iacon's walls.

It was apparent to her that the deeper they went the brighter the lights were. Maybe a side effect of the planet's glowing core? Or because '_the underworld_' had the same meaning to Cybertronians as it did to humans.

Gaia looked up, slowly, a ceiling ahead of them began to cut off her vision of the stars (unfortunately, the walls too) and Gaia had a solid feeling that she'd see them again very soon.

A slight bit more confident, Gaia closely followed the Autobots, noticing that although there is much action around there wasn't too many Autobots to be seen. Many were in sight, she caught them walking past them, continuing on their duties, but it was more of a home base then a city, and there were no civilians to be seen.

Or perhaps there was and it was required by law to wear the Autobot insignia...? And guns?

It was only when Gaia snapped her head back down did she notice the Autobots had stopped at another impressively sized door. They opened faster the Iacon's gates and did not fail to surprise her once more.

The inside of Iacon differed greatly from the dead planet she saw from orbit and now, looking inside this massive underground tower, did Gaia realize the vast change in scenery.

It was like rediscovering human history. Ancient writings, architecture, and relics. Gaia couldn't tell one letter from the next, but anyone could guess this place must be deeply important to the Autobots, if not, then the Cybertronian species as a whole.

She'd have only more questions to raise to Orion later, mostly about the standing this lightly illuminated tower was to any of his kind.

"De Mercurio, you are falling behind." _Speak of the devil, _Gaia put on a playful grin. "Are you alright?" he walked beside her as she quickened her pace to match the others.

"Orion, every time you speak to me, the first thing you say is '_are you alright.'_" Orion nodded, shifting his gaze. "I cannot help being concerned over your well being, you are, after all, on a time limit. The air on Cybertron is causing complications. I prefer to be sure on the matter whenever I am given the opportunity."

Gaia patted the mech's back lightly, "You win Orion, I'm good. Hungry, a bit tired, thirsty, but that's normal, nothing serious or medically severe." He replied with a light hearted smile, "Actually, I was daydreaming; I was planning on asking you about this... tower we're in."

"Well, it houses the High Council Pavilions." He mentioned them earlier, Gaia simply didn't know much about them, but figured she'd learn eventually. "It is they who decide who becomes the successor of the current Prime."

"Is it religious, political, or military related?" Orion stared with wide optics; he tapped his helm for the best answer until he found nothing better then to dive straight into it all.

"All of the above."

Gaia's turn to watch dumbfounded, "It can bring life in a Prime's hands, and it is a symbol of the Autobots and that which keeps us..." Orion trailed, it was interesting to watch an advanced computer struggle for the proper words. "Alive?"

Orion figured she would understand, it was a matter of being cautious, saying nothing that could be misinterpreted in the future. He also wanted to say there was more to the Autobots' standing then the belief in an object that a select few have ever seen, much less had the honor as Prime, hand chosen by the High Council Pavilions.

"... Yes, that would be a correct term."

"We have something like that." Gaia smiled, all too aware now Orion couldn't see the knowing look on her face. "Honestly, we have a number of things like that. For some, it's just the idea the God exists and watches over us, others it's the idea that everything has a reason, and everyone has a purpose, a role to play in the game of life."

_Primus_, was the first name that appeared in Orions' helm, he often thought about both extremes of Primus, either he existed or did not. If someone proved to him personally Primus was there, aware of all, he'd feel a tremendous guilt for his doubts; then again, he was only a soldier, his ideas of the all powerful mech surely meant less then one of Sentinel's stature.

"What do you believe? What keeps you alive?" He wanted to know more about her, her world, her people, they sounded so... exotic, so alien to his nature he couldn't help but desire to learn more. Obviously, the feeling was mutual, or she wouldn't pay so much attention to this tower, to Iacon, or to them as individuals. It was intriguing to Orion how she had swaying moods when she spoke to different Autobots.

Gaia thought long and hard about her faith in God, about the possibility of there being a supernatural being guiding humans through life.

She also decided that it was a vanity to believe that God would watch over her, life exploring the galaxy either meant the God didn't travel the universe and preferred the familiarity of Earth, or didn't exist.

In the end, after years of tossing the idea around, praying, reading the Bible, even studying many religions in order to find out what she truly had faith in.

It was easy after her scouting, she didn't believe in God, but she did believe in someone else. A man who she could see, have the comfort of touching, holding a conversation with, even marrying.

"My husband." She didn't want to bring it up, she had tried not to let his name into her head as a personal memorial or hold a quiet eulogy for the man she fell in love with, but she couldn't stop after Orion asked, she had only one thing dear to her heart; the only being she'd ever entrusted with her dark secrets and her fears.

The damn pilot had to go and get himself killed.

Gaia promised she'd continue, if she could find a way, return to Earth and give him a proper burial, one a brave soul like him deserved. The thought of him never looking at her again, never fighting beside her, never holding her when she felt the weight of her leadership come crashing down, that he'd never kiss her again...

"What is a husband?" Orion queried, Gaia almost lost track of their discussion. She didn't want to deal with grieving until after this was all done with, or if she was to die on Cybertron, then before her death she'd rather succumb to the void that she felt with each passing hour.

"Is there a term here for two people who choose each other to live with, to be connected to for the rest of their lives, not in a family sense, but as in two non-related people who find each other in their mature years to share their love?"

Orion's face seemed to brighten. "Yes there is, a bond mate. When a mech and a femme claim each other as theirs, it is a lifetime decision, an act that requires much commitment from one to the other."

"When a man and woman come together in, as it's deemed, Holy Matrimony, they are married and the man becomes the husband and the woman becomes the wife, during marriage they are called the Groom and the Bride respectively. It's a heavy commitment, when married there are ways of going back, things like divorce or becoming a widow."

"There is no way to reverse a bond to us, it is permanent and cannot be undone." Orion stared forward, as if in confusion as to how divorces were possible, "When bond mates separate usually the surviving mate dies."

Gaia shot a weary look at Orion, "Dies? As in, on the spot, commits suicide, or... what?"

"I see there must not be an equal to this to humans, but bond mates share their spark, their life force when they mate so as to become one. Think of it as if when one mate dies, the bond is severed, and half of the spark is taken with them. I have heard it is... painful, though some have lived through the ordeal."

_By God,_ Gaia found the statement somewhat ironic at this time. "Well, we have something... like bonding. I wouldn't know how to explain it, but it's how we reproduce and can be had with any other willing partner, even if they aren't married, or if one is and the other isn't."

"How can that be possible?" Orion was almost taken back by the reply, "Bonding with another without bonding? Or bonding with another when you have a mate? I do not understand."

She laughed weakly at Orion's confusion, "Our 'bonding' or, what we call it, sex, it is an act of pleasure; something to be enjoyed physically and, to some people, spiritually. It is also necessary for human survival because that is how other humans are born." Gaia was shooting her eyes from Orion to the Autobots ahead of them; thankfully, she had not caught up with them, but was close enough not to cause distress.

"I do not want to know how you can do that without bonding, yet how can this be done with good intentions? Do two humans mate then separate? Is that all there is to it? Is that what you do?" He seemed more frustrated with the lack of emotional connection involved; perhaps she wasn't painted a good enough picture.

"Orion, I've had a decent amount of men in my bed, by human standards I'm attractive to the opposite gender." She wondered how her skin looked now without the rays of the sun warming it, she had mocha skin that was always exposed to one type of light or another, but she was shadowed in her armor, no beaming warmth comforted her body anymore. She'd look like a ghost by the time she arrived at the Corsair's crash site.

"Then, I met a man I was serious with, after a few years we were married. I am monogamous, after our marriage I have never slept with another man." She smiled brightly though her mind was forcing the emotions down as they came rushing to the surface, threatening her usual calm visage. "When a married person sleeps with someone else but their partner, then it's called 'grounds for divorce.' Though two people can divorce each other at any time, this is what usually causes permanent separation. It's called cheating and it's looked down upon, but not illegal, though to the partner cheated on... That's another story."

"We do not have that." Orion shook his head lightly, displeasure evident on his face. "If I had a bondmate, I could never do such a thing."

"I once thought my husband cheated on me when we were on shore leave." Gaia felt herself heat up, the memory was a more recent one and the feeling of betrayal on both sides was her fault. She apologized, he accepted, and they were fine once more, yet it was still there. A nagging at her mind, she caused distrust in her marriage.

"I accused him of being with another woman, he denied. Turns out he was being honest and I was being an idiot." She huffed, her eyes stung, she wanted to fight them back. Not because someone was would see her cry, even just one or two tears, but because she didn't want to feel this here and now, she was exposed, when she was alone she would more then happily express herself. Not here, not like this, it was undignified. "We made up, I apologized to him a dozen times and he said he understood."

"I don't know how I felt; most people don't when this thing happens. I was angry, I thought, I felt hurt, like I was disrespected, kicked when I was down. I wanted to kill him, but I loved him so much. I can't tell you that I felt hurt, that's not true, I felt everything. Like betrayal, pain, like I was being stabbed in the chest and the assailant refused to stop." She felt this now, but this time she can pick her pain, loss of a love she'd never have returned.

"I was so very relieved to find out it wasn't true, I still felt guilty for believing he'd cheat on me, but he just passed it off as another part of marriage." That she smiled at, he was so easy going in her eyes. He was down to earth while she had her head in the clouds; it was a very amusing contrast to the crew when they'd disagree.

Orion even smiled at this, he could imagine two bondmates arguing all the time, it was more common then not. Whoever Gaia was bonded to, he wanted to meet him. "Is he on your home world? Or in space?" He felt at least somewhat excited; Gaia was a trustworthy woman and any male she chooses must certainly be as well.

Gaia stopped smiling though; she looked down and felt her hand mindlessly flicking over a piece of protruding material on her hip.

"He's..." She felt the familiar lump in her throat; it made breathing painful, speech only worsening it. "He's dead. He was the head pilot of the Corsair Escion, he went down with it."

Orion looked away; her voice emitted was cracking somehow, making the words come out like she was choking to death on them.

She lost her bondmate.

It wasn't the same though, like the bond a Cybertronian has with another, it was an alien practice that connected two humans; one he was deciding to accept as insane and he'd never fully comprehend it.  
Now though, his offworld friend was suffering through a heavy loss and he'd be lying if he said he knew how she felt. He had never been bonded to another nor thought about a femme in that sense, if there even was a femme around to think about it.

Human emotions proved themselves clearly more complicated then his own, they were full of variables while he could explain every inch of his own; humans had to suffer the pain of complication, simplicities he always thought were mundane and common would take a weight off Gaia's shoulders if only she had the same mind as a Cybertronian.

Not being about to shift through ones emotions in order of strongest to easiest was too strange to him. Not knowing that sadness overwhelmed your anger; that could cause problems then and there.

"I am sorry." Orion muttered out lowly, his knowledge that Gaia traveled his world, one unknown and alien to her, alone and without another human to comfort her properly like her specie would had enacted a sense of protective instinct in Orion. He was all she had currently; he had to be there for her when no one else could be.

"Don't worry about it." She took a deep breath, one strangled by her tight throat. "It's over now and I just need to go home."

* * *

Sentinel informed the Autobots that their time spent in Iacon should be one of rest, something was happening, or going to happen, that he wasn't saying and everyone knew it, but didn't act on it. Sentinel knew what he was doing, if the Autobots needed to know, he'd let them.

For now, Gaia learned a much welcomed treat while she was in Iacon.

She'd been given a room where she'd sleep alone, lock the doors, and no one could interrupt her dinner or her sleep. In Iacon, apparently, everyone was safe. The Decepticons had tried and failed miserably several times to take control over Iacon, so no one was worried about a single thing.

Now, she could relax, armor off and let her skin breath in the lightly toxic air. She could breathe for a few days before succumbing to poisoning and lack of enough oxygen. Tonight, the armor would be thrown to the side, she'd sleep happy while her body relaxed back to the way she needed it to be to fall into a deep sleep, the one she'd been aching for since she joined the Autobots.

Gaia remained in the main room with the Autobots from her journey here and others she was now passing by in hopes to wait until Orion was finished with his reunions and join her in her room, where they could be alone and talk freely for the first time in a while.

Autobots barely paid attention to her, friends they've missed for who knows how long was too much to bear already without adding an alien on top of the mix.

However, while the main group of Autobots she had traveled with dispersed to reunited with old friends, a few other Autobots appeared, anxious to meet the offworlder.

She was none-too-pleased; she didn't much like playing the balancing act with these Cybertronians.

"Well hello there." The deep green and copper Autobot greeted, "Word got around that we have a Neutral here, then others started saying you're from out there." He pointed straight up; Gaia lazily glanced to his hand then back to his golden visor. "Call me Hoist, I take care of the Autobots here while Ratchet busies himself with other things."

"Like recharging." An Autobot beside him laughed. "Jazz." He held his hand out as Gaia took it, she quickly pondered on the choice of name. Did they have jazz music here or was it something else? What are the coincidences of an alien named after a music genre? She shook the next Autobot's head without even realizing it.

"I am Nightbeat," Gaia almost balked at the name. What was up with these weird names? Hoist? Jazz? Now Nightbeat? She admitted Sunstreaker was an even stranger name since there was no sun around and she was half surprised they even knew what one was; a dark manufactured planet as it is should have the technology to know, but they refused to leave the confines of their home world.

Something Gaia could never understand, why stay when there are so many other worlds to explore and build upon?

"Captain De Mercurio, if you haven't heard my name already." She greeted without mentioning one word about their names, holding back the desire to ask '_What kind of name is that?_'

"Captain?" The silver one, Jazz, asked. "No one said you were a Captain. Just that your ship crashed and now, here you are." He shrugged, space travel mustn't be too interesting to him; he seemed more a person who finds home on solid ground.

_Land dweller. _Gaia stared straight to the mech, "Yeah, the vessel was called Corsair Escion, she was great ship. In fact, Sentinel has agreed to return me to it when we leave Iacon."

The dark green mech put a hand on his metal mask, "It still works? I thought it was grounded." She nodded with a sigh, "It is, but I need its radio functions-" _And a few other things_, Gaia didn't say yet continued, "-to contact home, perhaps get them to send a shuttle down to pick me up."

"So where is this massive space worthy station? The others said you told them it carried your people." Nightbeat, the strangest name of them all, asked, all were around the same height as Orion and she kept the title as tallest of the soldiers. Apparently it's either your built huge or your built small. Odd concept.

"Don't know right now, we travel, but we also colonize on other worlds." Gaia didn't want to go into too many details; she'd keep it as a blurry sketch. Mentally blaming Orion, who was happily watching while she was bombarded with questions.

She'd have to ask about these three aliens later, if they were always together or took bets to see who could bother her first.

"Colonists, eh?" Hoist huffed, she could hear a grin in his voice; something telling her he liked the idea, but didn't know much about it. "You still have Cybertron as your home world though, right?"

"This is my first time ever seeing it, we don't hang around in this sector; we're all hundreds of thousands of miles away. We made our home in another system, the Sol System which holds a completely inhabitable world that is also capable of natural life." _Earth_. She never thought she'd miss it this badly, but getting a look at what those massive metropolises could create if they engulfed the natural world; she hated the dark image.

"Natural life? Are there other species?" Gaia almost tripped back at Hoist enthusiasm on the subject. She could say yes, they're called humans and all live contently side by side, or lie and say no, the galaxy is a desolate place where only plants and animals roam the life sustaining planets.

The former sounded better in her head, she'd be able to freely tell about her species even while pretending they weren't her own. It would make any slip ups understandable and appear to be a side effect of living with another intelligent kind.

"Yes." Orion's optics went wide; his coolers went wild as he tried to keep himself calm. "They are called humans; they are an organic based sentient lifeform that hail from Earth, a planet within the Sol System and the only one able to sustain life."

The Autobots in the room, who had 'til now ignored the conversation and her, but with the topic of aliens on the line those who heard were instantly drawn to it. Some began leaning it, joining the others in stunned silence.

Gaia could only imagine what they were thinking.

"What do they look like? Are they made out of the same organic metals as us?" A small yellow bot asked, he was short, sounded younger then most Autobots she heard.

"No, not at actually." Orion came around to the idea of her expressing her people to them in a quiet way and crossed his arms while she spouted information to the eager crowd. "They have only a few colors, pale, tan, or brown. Any tones between those are common, anything else and they're probably sick." Gaia laughed at herself, she should've done this earlier; even Kup stood around to listen and he _never_ listened to tales, unless they were Sentinel's.

"They are not made out of organic metals? What are they made out of?" Another asked, oblivious to Gaia's human appearance as were they all, the whole thing proved itself rather amusing.

"Well, I'm not a scientist so all I can tell you is that they're soft and smooth individuals with skin instead of armor. Touching armor is hard and unless pounded in, it won't budge. But their skin does to a certain extent, it bends without open joints like ours-" Gaia was going to separate her from the humans she was describing as minimally as possible, it felt better that way. "-and they have millions of thin strings on their head called hair, it's seen as both vanity and beauty."

"Hair?" Hoist was trying his hardest to imagine the humans Gaia explained to them. "Flexible _skin_?"

Ratchet would have a field day if he ever got to see Gaia's actual form. She thought about the multitudes of tests he would subject her to with a scowl on her face, that doctor was determined she'd give him that.

"Their society is-"

The Autobots turned their attention from her to the doorway. Sentinel stood with mild interest, it was clear the powerful mech was waiting to get recharge after a long meeting with the High Council Pavilions.

"I would ask what had all of you so interested, yet I know De Mercurio well, no doubt she recalls some history of her people." He had a tired grin on his face plates, "We leave early, it is best we recharge for tomorrow."

"Where are we going so soon Sentinel?" Kup asked, the words slightly muddled by the cigar-like cylinder in his mouth.

Sentinel almost looked distressed to tell his soldiers, he knew better though, they were freedom fighters; they had to march into battle when they were needed.

"It is with a heavy spark that I inform you-"

Gaia blinked, frozen to her spot.

* * *

_"It is with a heavy heart that I... I inform you that there is not enough power to launch all the crew members aboard. This is a vessel of one hundred and twenty crew members, not including myself and our senior pilot."_

* * *

"I, as Prime, will not hide the truth. A Decepticon army is quickly approaching our borders; Megatron is said to be present at the head of an army that is sweeping over the regions around Iacon. I will not force you to go; this will be the greatest battle we have ever been a part of." Sentinel's spark ached; this was going to be a great battle, the High Council Pavilions called them back in order for them to regroup the entire Autobot armies.

"It is only a matter of time until they reach the city and seek to find a way past its defenses." Sentinel saw his soldiers' serious expressions, not one acted bitter or cheated out of their time together. All were aware of the stakes.

* * *

"_I, as your Captain, will go down with the ship. I will try to buy you all some time to guide the shuttles back to military space. While our enemies target those aboard our ship, those who flee will have time to reach guarded military space. I will not force this decision on my personnel, you are all my crewmates, but I ask you choose quickly, our power level is draining and the enemy will resume their attacks_."

* * *

Gaia knew that speech; it was hers when the Corsair was being destroyed. That wasn't just a warning, or a speech to set the mood to march into battle; it was a death sentence.

This wasn't going to be like what they faced in the past; Orion never mentioned anything about a great battle just that the Decepticons plundered while the Autobots gave charity.

"We are with you Prime," Kup cackled, "All of us." The Autobots nodded, each one standing their ground.

"'Til all are one, Prime." Prowl announced, the rest of the Autobots cheered the same, "_'Til all are one!_"

He was thankful, his Autobots held no fear for the coming battle. "Recharge Autobots, we rise early."

Orion saw Gaia's head drop, the visor darkening under shadows. "Gaia?" They were alone, she could tell by the use of her first name.

The Autobots had left to their respective rooms, Gaia snatched Orion's wrist, the mech protested at first before recognizing her plans.  
She quickly pulled Orion along, out of the prying optics of other Autobots and directly into an empty, unclaimed room. At which, she locked the doors, closed all windows and covered them before facing Orion and tossing off her helmet.

"Sorry about dragging you like that, I needed to get out of there." She removed pieces of her armor, one by one until she only wore her greaves and an undershirt while her armor plates were tossed onto the table in the room with her weapons, the material underneath the armor was still zipped to her hips, the upper half hung limp around her waist.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked, his logic processor was quickly draining in her new shown skin. He hadn't seen so much of her before; she really was a strange alien.

He skin would dent but retain its shape once whatever dented it lost pressure. When she scratched her arm, Orion saw white lines appear where the tips of her fingers touched before disappearing.

It was like rubber that wouldn't tear, just kept taking back its natural shape.

Orion hesitantly poked her arm before his hand snapped back; the skin repeated the action of pressure, then appearing as nothing had ever happened.

"Orion, I'm concerned about you now." Gaia glanced back and forth between his face and his hand. "Why did you just poke me?"

His optics flashed a moment before he turned his attention to what she said, "Yes, ah-" His processor was ablaze with this new knowledge, "I was just interested... Your skin is so..."

Gaia almost laughed, "Yeah, when I learned you were all made out of metal, I had similar thoughts." Orion felt a sudden rush of both intrigue and embarrassment; he wanted to get off this new topic before it turns against him.

"When Sentinel spoke to us, you seemed like you were in a trance." She took a seat, the chairs were hard, but she could live with it. "Like Kup when he remembers something he doesn't want to tell us."

"Yeah it's like that." Orion sat near her, watching as she let her hair loose and fall wherever it wanted to before anxiously taking two ration bars from her pack and a bottle of water. "When the Corsair was failing I had to tell the crew that we lost too much power, our emergency generators were already draining and we didn't have enough energy to evacuate all crewmembers."

Orion let out a low sound of realization. "I see."

"Some went down with the Corsair, most escaped... I hope. I don't actually know, but that was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Tell my crew, people I spent the majority of my life with that some were going to die and I couldn't save them." She took a hungry bite out of the ration bar, it tasted sweeter then sugar on her empty stomach.

"I suppose you could tell this will not be just any battle coming." Orion mused, of course she knew, she probably had to face it more then once; she traveled the galaxy, once her people were threatened by a barbaric alien specie. She knew better then he did the weight of this inevitable war.

"He said the same damn words I did when I told the crew I couldn't save them all." Gaia finished once bar, she wanted to eat, drink, and go to bed, she didn't want to stay up and think about her place in the universe anymore today. "I suppose Sentinel will drop me off at the Corsair's crash site before you reach the battlegrounds."

"Most likely, yes." He didn't want her to go, she was a good friend, albeit they didn't have much time to openly talk about their own histories to one another; but she treated him with the same respect as the rest of the Autobots yet acted more like a leader, like Sentinel then a soldier.

She was a Captain whose people died, as Sentinel would if majority of the Autobots were slain.

"This room has two berths, would you mind if I remained here for recharge?" Orion asked, he pleaded just to spend a few more moments in her company. After they recharged, they'd remain apart for the most part and when they reached the Corsair he'd never see her again; he didn't know much about her other then her position, her husband, and her personality, but he thought of her as a friend, as another Autobot.

Gaia smiled, "Sure, why the hell not."

The two rooms were on opposite sides of the main living room where they sat now, when Gaia finished her food and water, she bid goodnight to her good friend and the chamber doors on their rooms closed.

Gaia felt a bit pleased the inside of the rooms were heated enough for her to sleep comfortably, but for the night, rest came with struggle; her mind was set on her husband and the lost crewmates of the Corsair Escion.

If she got home, she'd never leave again.

* * *

_**Errrrrk! Stop right there!** Review replies will be posted at the top! :)_


	10. Nuevo Polaris

_**The Next Life.**_

_By Kaimaler._

* * *

**_Well, I wanted to add more to_**_ this chapter but found that it wasn't the right place or time to do so.  
Eventually, we'll be seeing the skeleton of the Corsair Escion and Gaia's heartbreaking reaction. I think it is, maybe... possibly. :)  
I'm looking forward to writing it, I know what to do, flashbacks, moments, quiet ponderance, etc. etc. It's simply that I want to involve the reader to Gaia's dispair as much as I physically can._

_**Review Replies:**_

_**Great Diabla Assassin: **Yessss? You did? You like it that much? :D I'm so surprised and thrilled!  
LAWL. I believe the last chapter had the second-most words in a chapter ever. 7,974 Words. It was a big one, but I thought you all deserved it after such a long wait. For which I apologize yet again!_

_I know. I would lose everything. That cannot happen. This story I'm Beta-ing is difficult because there are so many little words that go wrong that the human mind naturally overlooks. I have to scold the paper until something appears! It hurts my eyes. :O_

_YOU are my Minion! Some are, like GrimlockX4 and people like that. You are so totally my number one right now though! Keep reviewing... I have nothing to give but my thaaaaaaaankkkssssss._

_And a chapter or two. :D_

**_Smoltwire:_**_ 1. Awesome name, I wish I could come up with cool usernames; but alas I am "Kaimaler."_

_At first when I read the beginning few words I thought "Oh noes! A flaaaaame!" But then I was so surprised when I found out you were actually loving my story! :D  
By the way, I tend to jump to conclusions. Is it obvious? x)_

_Gaia is my personal best I believe, there is so much I want to do with her but so little I posses the ability to do. So, I just go with what I can until I learn better, more useful writing skills then I'll work on revising this.  
I want that! I mean, for readers! I hate. H.A.T.E. how people depict women as damsel's in distress. Helpless little girls. The vulnerable lesser-gender. I can't stand it anymore. So I wrote Gaia._

_Strong, fierce, and would rather die a slow death then surrender for a quick one. I can only imagine her giving her life willingly for a teammate, relative, or just a friend. Gaia De Mercurio is a character who I wanted others of the female gender to recognize as how things should be. Men aren't the dominant gender, sure they do have more strength due to their natural body build, but that sure as hell doesn't mean a woman couldn't kick a body-builders ass. Male or female that is._

_Strength comes from within, it's a passion that needs more attention I believe. So, Gaia's passion is those around her; Orion, her husband, her crew._

_Sorry, but here's more! I'll keep writing until this story is done, yet for now; this is all I got. Soon, I will publish another and another until you see that little piece of paper with the symbol "C" on it. :)_

**_crystalfeathers:_**_ Ooo, my hopes to immerse my reader is working? I'm so happy! I wanted readers to feel the planet, the alien aura is sends off, the towering city that's abandoned. I'd have a fear of them falling down, but hey; Gaia's not me. :)_

_Corsair Escion will show up here soon enough! And so will a certain someone who's name I'm not mentioning yet... :D  
A few things upcoming will force this story to branch out through Cybertron; but for now, let's just get Gaia to the Corsair! Then we'll enjoy the stress that comes along with it._

_Orion will be... different so to speak, by the end of this story if not sooner. Much different. Woot woot!_

* * *

Orion woke her up first, she noted that humans needed longer time to sleep then Cybertronians needed to recharge apparently.

He was still intrigued by her skin, how it dented and reformed under the pressure and release of his hand shaking her awake. He wasn't sure how she'd react to being woken up so quickly, she was an alien, and beforehand they had at least enough time for her to rise at her own pace. Somewhat, he remembered a few times where Gaia groaned in protest but marched along anyways.

"Gaia, we are preparing to leave Iacon, you must put on your armor so no one else sees you." The door was locked, but it wouldn't stop Autobots from forcing the two residents awake.

Waking up was never pleasant on Cybertron. Gaia had to refresh her memory every time without a single flaw; else she and Orion's entire plan would crumble. She needed to remember what she had already said about her world, about humans the day before, about herself when she first met them, and specifically about her plans.

Corsair Escion was a distance away, Gaia wanted to know how long it would take before reaching her downed craft, but it felt best to leave her internal mumblings to herself.

Slipping on her armor, her latched on the outer armor before closing the airtight helmet and waiting for the pressure to rise; all the while Orion waited patiently by the door, anxious to join his team outside.

Gaia walked over to the mech, placing a hand on his shoulder before opening the door. It was time to march and time to meet a very large group of Autobots she'd never seen before. Orion was close behind her, he wasn't directly giving her support yet Gaia was relived that he stood by her; she felt guarded just enough to have freedom of movement while offering an invisible shield.

"Gaia," He stopped her before they left the building. "May we speak for a moment? I promise it will not take up too much time." He asked nervously, interested, Gaia turned around and nodded for him to continue.

"I do not want to tell the others yet I do not think I can calm myself." He sighed dejectedly, "I am... concerned about our mission to stop the Decepticon forces from arriving at Iacon's gates. We've been in this war too long and with too little success; we have lost so many to the war... I fear we will fail due to overwhelming odds."

Gaia lingered, how she did comfort the nerves of a rookie aboard her ship? Was it the same with this organic metal alien? How could she ever possibly tell him honestly the odds of victory when she didn't even know the numbers of Decepticons against Autobots? She had to answer fast; Orion was beginning to believe she couldn't give him the courage he needed to go through with this battle.

She looked to the side, "Orion, sit." She led him to the chairs, pulling the other chair closer before taking a seat in front of his chair.

Orion was looking down to his hands, as if searching for the answer there. Gaia leant forward and took his hands into hers, "Orion. I'm not going to lie or tell you the Autobots will emerge victorious. I don't know the odds, I don't know the Decepticons." Orion nodded; she knew less of the Decepticons then he did when the war started.

"I will tell you that success doesn't come from victory or from outside." She knew the Autobots had a spark instead of a heart; she could bend her words like she was a Cybertronian herself. If she wanted to. "When I was first aboard the Corsair Escion, I was scared to death. I knew the risks I'd be undergoing on the Corsair, but it was difficult just functioning properly when I was order to fight my first battle."

Orion looked to her; her helmet distanced her too much. Releasing his hands a moment to remove it, she let it hang on her shoulder as before and reclaimed Orion's hands in hers and pulled closer to the mech. "Yet you are alive now, you won that battle. This is different Gaia; we are more likely to offline then survive."

She shook her head lightly. "You don't know about the Revolution when all Nations agreed to a peace; a group of extremists who believe their country or people were better then others and threatened the United Nations' civilians. We were striking a newly discovered base they hid on a moon." She explained further to give him the idea what her crew was actually up against. "These people would kill themselves if it meant stopping outsiders from hindering their plans."

A strange thing to register, yet Orion made no mention to the opposite, he still knew very little about Gaia's universe. "I lost; we didn't expect what we found. Our radars were jammed, giving us false readings repeatedly, then our HUD wouldn't respond and we'd have to leave our helmets and visors." She remembered her old Captain well, he was more fierce then her in a battle.

"After we reached the lower levels, we found interrogation rooms for UN soldiers and VIP's we had thought killed in battles." She sighed, _It happened far too fast._ "It was probably because I was the rookie; the new kid on the Corsair that got me in the end. I was inexperienced and while walking ahead of my superior I failed to... examine the area closer."

Gaia pulled down the flexible, but tight material around her throat revealing a scar. "What is that?" Orion hadn't been told what scars were; sure Cybertronians were hurt in battle, some injuries more repairable then others. But no one was left with a scratch after their armor was replaced or cleaned. Scars didn't generally exist unless a dent counts and even then they're easily fixed.

"When a human sustains a deep enough wound, when it heals a mark is left. If it's a gash, they'll be a long line where the gash once was. If it was a bullet wound, they'll be a circle with thin lines from the inside out. If it was a fire, the flesh would heal poorly; usually leaving the skin sensitive for years on end, but it won't heal properly it has to be professionally graphed to heal." The burn scar down the left side of her neck told Orion it went further down then just a piece of the neck and shoulder.

"What happened?" He leaned forward to see the details even more, his processor was already filling up with strange facts of humans, this beat them all so far.

"Like I said, I did do my job. I cam around a corner without checking, a classic rookie mistake, and an extremist said something I didn't understand, in a language I don't know." She shrugged, trying to act indifferent about the mess on her neck down to her shoulder blade. "He had a bomb; he was one of the last people in the entire structure they built. He knew he wasn't going to win, his side lost. So, instead of surrendering in the face of inevitable defeat, he decided that he was going to sacrifice himself for his people's goal. I say, even though we cleared out the building and excavated the sight; he won."

Orion turned his attention from her scar to her eyes, "He wasn't an extremist; he was a soldier like me, but a veteran. He was convinced of the UN's choices being morally wrong. In the end, the UN investigated him and the extremists." She lightly shook Orion's hands, "In the end, a truce between the factions was made. Even if the Autobots don't win this battle Orion, what is symbolizes may end the war."

"How will I know?" He was insistent in a desperate way, he needed proper comforting. "You don't, if you remain strong at the end, fight 'til the end. Your sacrifice will mean more then anything to your teammates and to you. You said you had a God, imagine what it would mean to him."

Orion sat back in the chair, his arms lax on his lap while Gaia rubbed his hands smoothly with her thumbs. "I... understand." And he meant it. He understood the meaning, death can be more important then life. If he falls in battle, being remembered for his determination and spirit would define her perhaps more then his position as a soldier.

It was a dark truth, but a truth nonetheless. He would prefer his life mean something even if it means dying for it to be noticed, more precisely, the cause he fought and died for to be noticed.

The Autobots were more important that one Cybertronian, their purpose needed to be realized; by any and all.

Orion secretly held the wish that he and his bothers in arms would receive aid from Gaia's people, somewhere, someday, her alien race would appear. She managed to land on Cybertron, albeit it was an actual emergency landing, but if she found Cybertron how long would it take for her people, her military to find and explore Cybertron.

Perhaps Sentinel could prove they weren't a threat, but the Decepticons were.

It was a foolish wish, he knew, though it didn't stop him from hoping. With Gaia, he felt a pain in the pit of his internal functions for the alone, lost human who had nothing but him on an alien world. Her bravery to march on despite the anguish she no doubt felt at the loss of her crew, her soldiers, just like Sentinel would if his Autobot's were offlined in battle.

Her will to move forward made him want to walk with her, to be as close as a friend possibly could to her. She was a powerful femme, or woman, in his optics; he wanted to have the same confidence as she did.

But how did she get up and move forward, how could she have hope, why would she allow more pain into her life when it was obvious nothing was going to bring her crewmates and bond mate back from the dead.

"Gaia," He glanced around, almost worried someone was listening. If they were, they'd probably have reported Gaia's alien heritage before they even knew it. He didn't want to be vulnerable, but in sight of a battle that could decide the victor of this exhaustingly long war; he couldn't help it. "How do you keep functioning?"

Caught off guard, Gaia could only assume he was asking about her health. It didn't make sense after such a talk, but she'd go along with it. "Orion, I'm fine." Her brow raised, he was misinterpreted.

"I mean after all that has happened here, to your crew, to you; how do you keep functioning, how do you have the will to live when every one has offlined in the crash?" He wanted specifics, he wanted to know.

Gaia bowed her head, "Ah, I see."

There wasn't a chance in hell she'd lie and say something inspiring even though that's what he needed so badly. Lies would hurt him worse in the end then telling the cold, hard truth on the matter.

She missed everyone, her crew, the smell of her mechanic after he finished for the day, the aroma of a military grade meals, her pilot bursting in her door after asking Hye Kwan to hack it when Gaia was angry at him for one reason or another. When she had to train new recruits for Corsair model crewmates she'd have to act tougher then normal, make them work harder then others; it built character and the ability to do those difficult tasks is ever required.

Gaia couldn't wait to just have dreams about exiting the elevator to come face to face with a rushed crewmate. The flashing red lights even, just before her crash, before an attack, when the Corsair Escion was damaged. Those thrilling, blood pumping moments when she thought she could die or her crewmates could die.

It was glory.

"Some escaped; the shuttles they escaped on took them to military controlled space." She answered finally; Orion was beginning to think she didn't want to answer. "I survived the crash; I have to know if the crew on the shuttles made it back safely or not. I... can't explain how much it aches not knowing if my crew's sacrifice actually saved them."

Orion smiled sadly to the hurt human, "Thank you Gaia, you helped more then you know." She chuckled, shaking his hands in a friendly manner. "Don't thank me just yet Orion, I am prone to ruining meaningful moments." She jokingly threatened, rising from her seat.

"Come on metalhead, let's go meet up with the others." She pulled him from his seat, patting his back and ushering him forward. "They are probably worried by now." He let out a nervous laugh, "I do appreciate you being so understanding of my dilemma Gaia, it does mean a lot to me."

"Oh," She play punched his shoulder... before deciding punching anything metal without her gauntlets on is a bad thing. "Don't get all soft on me now; I need that hardened soldier who pulled me out of fire the other day."

* * *

The Autobots were gathered nearby the hotel-like building Orion and her took shelter in. It would always astound her the strange, but enchanting lights of Iacon. It was such a change from the dark, gun metal grays she had seen so far on Cybertron. Oddly enough, the bright neon lights and strong tones gave her eyes rest; it almost hurt seeing all the lights when she first entered Iacon.

At the very moment Orion was seen with Gaia not three feet behind him, everyone greeted him then her. It wasn't the same though, somehow the Autobots changed. Gaia trusted her instincts; it was the looming battle they geared up for.

For her, it was the trek to her Corsair, the only spacecraft she gave a damn about in the known galaxy. She was tense, rigid almost from her own eagerness to make a bee line for her ship.

This time, Sentinel didn't speak out before they left. No one said it, yet everyone knew why. The dangers they were to face wasn't the normal patrol groups or spies they had dealt with in the past; this was a full scale official battle to end the war... or just another milestone of destruction and death.

Gaia wouldn't speak against anything, she didn't belong here and that was that. She was the black sheep, a title she took on in this group proudly. Though no one knew it or would know it if mentioned; that's exactly what she was to any other human if any had witnessed her joining the Autobots.

Orion had newfound confidence in his step, no one noticed it, the mech often carried himself faultlessly; only he knew it wasn't the same reason.

Gaia followed the group as normal, she wasn't a part of them so for her safety and of others; she'd keep her distance. Walking ahead to the right of the group, she kept to herself while traversing the long streets and brightly lit passageways. Her own attraction to the golden dome of Iacon would remain with her.

Sentinel knew exactly why Gaia stayed away from the Autobots during travels. He feared for her safety, though his concerns need not be opened to his men lest he loose their faith in him, she was unguarded; a sniper could take her down easily at this distance. Of course, a mech familiar with long range battles could take any one of them out, but with Primus' help; they could look out for each other and not be sitting away from his team.

Sure, she wasn't an Autobot; he wasn't convinced she even knew Cybertron though she claims she does. Her wandering questions, confusing terminology, and smooth gait told Sentinel's logic processor that she was more then she seemed or in theory, that's what she appeared to Sentinel.

As they exited the massive gates of Iacon, Sentinel caught her turned around and walking backwards, taking in the sights of Iacon's gates granting her leave before spinning back around as if it never happened.

She pulled out her rifle, holding it as if a Decepticon would jump out from a wall and attack them. Sentinel could see her stature tense though she was covered in a suit; he pondered how he could see her physical form tighten when it wasn't visible at all.

It was her _suit._ The crossing patterns and weaving would shift and take form at the very minimal movement. Her armor would tract and retract based on her movements. Upwards they loosened, downwards they tightened. When her chassis underneath the suit would react, so would the armor. It was as if her armor responded to her emotions and density.

He felt less concern for the mysterious femme, yet he wasn't about to let his processor wrack itself with queries about her. She must want to be apart of the group marching onward, there were many following his lead and she was an outcast of the people; being set away from the group meant she couldn't be relaxed on her own. So, he decided it was best not to let her alone.

"De Mercurio." He called, her head instantly snapped to face him. By his calling her name, she figured there was danger about or they picked up Decepticon's on their radar; it didn't make sense though, she'd always be able to catch a foreign object on her HUD radar quicker then they would.

She had raised her rifle, beginning to aim it down the street whilst looking around the buildings separate from the road they travelled on. "Sentinel?" She questioned, meeting his side he gestured her to calm. "There is no danger; I simply thought it best for you to remain with us. We will not be seeing any Decepticon activity for some time."

Her rifle hanging in her left hand, Gaia looked back to the Autobots watching the two converse. Sentinel still marched on, like he never spoke a word, and Gaia followed suit. No desire to be dead weight, she heeded his invitation.

Now, walking with the Autobots had gotten her some more respect out of the group. Or trust. Kup still stayed near Sentinel, Orion near Gaia, the twins locked to each others sides, Wheeljack with Ratchet and Ironhide, while many other Autobots stayed with their preferred company. She was fine alone, set aside from the group, but being with Orion made her feel considerably more secure.

While musing this fact, Gaia was barely aware of the hushed whisperings of the Autobots nearby. Orion made her completely aware. "They cannot stop speaking about you," He chuckled, watching his teammates throw the idea of an outsider amongst the group. "You are somewhat famous it seems."

"It's the same as when Sunstreaker and Sideswipe kept chatting about me." Gaia shrugged, "Nothing serious, I'm not concerned about it any more."

Orion looked back to her, "I know. It does not mean it is any less amusing to listen to my brothers in arms speak nonsense about my newest friend." He nudged her lightly, Gaia laughed in return. "I'm kinda' happy Sentinel invited me to join you. I like talking with you."

He acted like she was lying, with a scoff and a half-hearted wave. "You are just saying that to make my feel better."

"Am I that transparent?" Gaia looked at her hands. Orion laughed louder and playfully shoved her. "That was mean, I was joking." She wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "As am I, friend."

"I do not wish for you to leave, yet I am anxious to know you returned to your home safely." Orion admitted, looking upwards to the skies. "I would give anything for this war to be over and join you in space. I can only imagine what it muse be like traveling planet to planet, skimming the stars and outsmarting Scavengers." He went on wistfully, explaining his minds eye images of space. "To be a whole again would be nothing short of fantasy."

"You'll get through this Orion, you'll see." Gaia pulled him closer, pointing to a shinning star. "You see that star right there?" Orion glanced to her before following her pointed finger. "Yes." He squinted, staring directly at a bright star.

"That's Nuevo Polaris." She smiled; her helmet hid her own love of the unmoving star. "Before _we_ advanced to mechanical transportation, the Northern Star would guide sailors and travelers to the right direction. It was always North, no matter what, people would look up and see the star; they'd never be lost with it. After we found a way to travel in space, the star was no longer useful to lost Wayfarers."

"Sailors?" Orion looked questioningly to Gaia, "On Earth, most of the surface is covered with water. The Seven Sea's they're called. In the early days of our civilization, the only way to get certain supplies was by sea and it stayed like that for a long time. After we discovered flight and cold fusion, we no longer had requirements of sailors except to gather food from the sea or to go on vacations."

Orion nodded, an alien concept of the Seven Sea's, but just another fact about her specie that differed from his. "Well, after leaving Earth to explore the galaxy humans couldn't use the Northern Star to guide them safely." She sighed; the stars led her through many trials on board the Corsair. "Instead, many other stars were discovered to replace the old, as they were called; Pole Stars. Nuevo Polaris is now our greatest ally when we risk loosing ourselves in the vastness of space. I will always show us where we need to go."

Orion stared at the bright star, now seeming to stand out from the others. All stars looked alike, spotting one in the millions of others required training, but to Gaia it was well worth it. The Nuevo Polaris stood as a symbol to the new peace Earth met once the UN finally welcomed all Nations to their truce.

Gaia had her Space Marine tattoo when she was first admitted into the ranks. Even as a private, she'd wear the symbol of the Space Corps proudly. The Nuevo Polaris being the center piece of the permanent ink on her left bicep.

"I will miss you, though I do expect to know if you return safely." Orion took the star into his memory banks; he wanted to remember it for the future. "If I do not receive word of your functioning, I will find a way to reach you." He pointed threateningly at his friend, "No worries Orion, I plan on sending word."

"Good, you know what is best for you." He laughed with her until they noticed the many interested gazes from the other Autobots. "Perhaps we should keep it down?" Gaia giggled, "Perhaps."

* * *

_**Errrrrk! Stop right there!** Review replies will be posted at the top! :)_


	11. Scavengers

_**The Next Life.**_

_By Kaimaler._

* * *

**_HEY HEY HEY! Read this please!_**

**_______Oh yes! Please, take the opportunity to go to my user page and at the very top they'll be a "Poll", please! Vote! Your vote counts! :D  
_**_______When it's over, I'll rally the votes and publish my new story! I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone chooses! Currently, only two people have voted so I'm sad right now. But! With any luck (of which I have NONE) more people will go and vote on the poll while they have the chance._

You can decide my next story! Though options are limited I'm willing to hear any suggestions, send me a PM if you have any at all! I may say yes! :)

_**Review Replies:**_

_**Smoltwire:  
**Well, you never really know. Poor Gaia is alone on a planet and her only friend is an alien who knows less about humans then a hampster. :)  
You'll just have to see how it plays out! I'll make the whole thing more interesting then just a "decision", it'll be quite emotional for Gaia. She'd been on the Corsair her entire military career, most of her life was spent aboard that ship with those crewmates.  
It'd be mightly painful knowing everyone you spent your life with was dead or hurt, right? I'm not going to play off the Corsair and Gaia's reunion as simply "Oh, I knew it was destoryed." Nothing will ever prepare a person for the loss of their family and friends. :( So be warned! Sad times ahead!_

_Nah, you didn't give me that feeling. I just saw "I'm desperately confused..." and I thought "Oh shittake mushrooms! I've been a baa-aaad author!" then I saw you liked it and I smacked myself for jumping to conclusions.  
So far I've not gotten a single flame or contructive critism on this story so I'm rather pleased! :D_

_**Great Diabla Assassin:**_  
_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK._  
_Wait. Was this a compatition?... No...? Oh... Well then. ;)_

_The start? Man, Orion and Gaia hit it off like fire and a log cabin. :D_  
_Ooooooooooooooo, I'm bad at those, but I'll make sure it's the best I can do of it. Speaking of horribly violent scenes, I've been playing Dead Space as my inspiration. YAY VIOLENCE_

**_crystalfeathers:_  
**_~.^_

**_Horser01:_**_  
_Yessss, because it was. :( I'm sorry, I just tried to do something interesting and not push it. I know it's horrible but I had just gotten back from my brothers house and I NEVER SLEEP there. Partly because his cats are whiny little bitches and partly because I love staying up with him and his wife playing Trivial Pursuit and video games. :)

Yes, no, maybe, perhaps, possibly, you never know, sure, whatver, nada happening. WHO KNOWS... I'd like to know...  
I have something planned and at the end of this chapter we'll get an idea of what is coming. :D

Yay! I love torturing my characters! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

* * *

Time went slower and slower, Gaia felt as if she'd never reach the Corsair in time. _In time for what?_ She scoffed, _To watch the fires burn? To watch the corpses of my crew decay?_ She reminded herself there was nothing to rush for. The telecommunications array would take some time to repair just to get a distress signal out to military space.

Not to mention the possibility of the transmission being intercepted by Scavengers who dive to the planet surface to excavate the Corsair's remains.

Gaia still moved on, her mind pounding while her body went numb. She marched without even thinking about it and, after awhile, she realized it was probably a bad idea to continue on like this. She was watching her radar, not scanning the area; a Decepticon could strike them at any moment and she'd be last to take cover.

_What does it matter?_ Gaia blinked, resisting the urge to smack herself. _I have to know if the crews sacrifice allowed the others to survive... But wouldn't they have sent aid? At least a recovery team?_

She sighed; of course they would, they just couldn't make it within a week of the crash. Two months, at best, and even then recovery teams were notorious for arriving late to the party. Her crewmates would see to their early arrival if they had to do it themselves. The crew was a respectable family of tight knit soldiers, engineers, and analysis's. There wasn't a thing they wouldn't do to ensure the Corsair got the send off it truly deserved.

Of course, Gaia was assuming they all made it back safely and the patrol vessels actually believed their story.

One other thing crew and Captains of Corsair model ships had to accept is that sometimes their stories are just to bizarre to be legally documented without a psychological exams, mental stability, physical stability, and drug tests. Corsair flight members were commonly people who had nothing else in their lives and wanted to do one notable thing before they pass on.

Gaia had one foot in on that category. With her brother's medical expenses rising, her position in the military wasn't earning her enough money to pay off the bills; her only answer was to take up a high risk mission on board the most feared ships in the galaxy.

During this time, the Corsair model line was at its beginning; no one knew what to think of the few massive Corsair's in production. Her Corsair Escion was the third ever built, but the one that set off the Corsair model production rates into overdrive. With said model now a key to the defense and protection of military space and Earth, the Corsair Escion lived up to all the hype.

People joked about it being the Suicide Ship and only people with a death wish would register to be a crewmate aboard. Gaia hated it when potential soldiers or technicians would be scared off when she requested their transfer due to a recent loss of the crew member in a certain position.

That probably set them off even more; hearing the rumors, shaking in their boots when the request came in, reading the explanation behind it. It all played a part; only the brave could step foot on the Escion without their teeth chattering.

Some crewmembers came aboard the Escion shaking; some took to solitude not wishing to participate in whatever the rest of the crew did.

Gaia couldn't really blame them. With these turn of events, crashing on an uncharted planet known only to an alien race of organic machines? Seems the rumors all came true.

The Corsair Escion was lost in the fringes of space; no one knew where it was now; not even the crew who took the shuttles back to UN claimed space. There wasn't a single human life form on the planet that could help her.

She'd argue with herself that the Autobots were helping, they would get her to the Corsair Escion's crash site and, with any luck, help her repair the communications array; if not, she'd do it herself, bid them farewell, and wait for rescue.

But _wait._ Did she want to know if the crew didn't make it? Would it be better to just _hope _they made it? What would she do if they didn't, she couldn't stand knowing she was the only one who survived.

"De Mercurio, we're nearing the first outpost." Orion stated, looking forward to the list of towers in their path, "It is the double tower to the right. That is the largest outpost on this side of Iacon; we will be safe and regroup with the Autobots there before moving on. Most of the group will stay below to guard the entrance, just to watch for Decepticon scouts."

"How long will this all take? We staying to rest like usual?" Gaia spotted the tower, a typical gun metal grey with a few lights at the top.  
_Oh no, that's over a dozen storey's up. I hope there's an elevator..._ She inwardly winced; she'd be exhausted barely even halfway to the top if there wasn't.

"No, only for a short time. The Decepticons will not wait for us to arrive to begin advancing; we can afford an hour off of traveling else they gain miles in our territory." Orion explained. Gaia understood clearly, the less battlefield on their side the less chance they had at actually coming out victorious.

"Alright." She sniffed, "Is there an elevator?"

Orion glanced her way, "No, is that a problem?" He hadn't a clue how it could be...

"Unfortunately yes. I see the lights of the outpost, it's at least fifteen storey's high; I'll never reach the top on stairs without tiring out." One more thing about humans he was eager to learn the logic behind, "How about I stay down a few storey's or so; I'll eat, drink, rest up, and by the time you all come back down I'll be more then ready to head off again. I can't go too long without food and it's been over six hours since I last ate. I'm starving here." She smiled, once more wishing that she didn't need to wear the HUD around the Autobots.

"You will have to inform Prime about your plan, yet since you are not an Autobot you can do as you please so long as it does not cause any harm upon the Autobots." He looked to Prime, still marching forward without any outside interruption Sentinel was in deep thought; any Autobot could tell.

Gaia nodded, "I'll tell him when we get there."

As promised, once they all reached the outpost they began climbing the staircase. From what Gaia could tell it was an emergency escape route they were using backwards to reach their destination.

After a few storeys' Gaia could already feel herself becoming tired. The Autobots showed no signs of wear or stopping, each one taking each step like it was the first. Somewhat jealous, Gaia stopped at a door ten storey's up. She had been pushing it since they passed a massive two storey room earlier. If she decided to continue an hour wouldn't be long enough to regain her breath before moving out again.

"Sentinel." She was outside the door. "I'll wait here, rest up a bit and I'll see you in a little." Sentinel was clearly taken off by the suddenness of it; he wanted to know more before allowing her to stay alone without Autobot watch.

Of course, now he was assuming he could stop her.

"I will assign Ironhide to you until our return-" She raised her hand, "No bodyguards needed Sentinel, if you choose someone choose Orion or none at all."

The Autobots glanced between themselves; their leader and the offworlder were finally butting heads. Nothing dramatic, not a battle or something that would escalate to an argument, but no one defied Sentinel's wishes as he was the savior of the Autobot faction in whole. The offworlder had informed them of her military position, a Captain, but nothing more.

Sentinel stared down the mysterious visor of the Neutral following him. She'd not once caused trouble amongst his Autobots, not a problem in the world. He trusted her around his Autobots not only because they could take care of themselves if anything were to happen, but because Gaia had proven herself an honest companion, she'd not once threatened his command and instead shown herself an ally, someone Sentinel was interested in learning more about.

Yet here she stood, her decision could very well hurt their partnership. He trusted her with anyone of his brothers in arms; but not alone. There was always more with her, she was always outnumbered. Here, alone between the Autobots below and the outpost above, she could actually be a risk regardless of her inability to escape the tower.

Since she was a Neutral, her position on Decepticons and Autobots could shift randomly, she could switch teams voluntarily without rebuttal from the Decepticons, at least, not if she gives them information in return for her safety.

He found himself in the same place he was when he met her; she was too much of a risk to leave alone, she could be honest in her intentions or destroy their entire plans in one fell swoop with the Decepticons right behind her.

Gaia looked down, she knew what he was thinking, and it was hard to imagine his discomfort with her being away from his people in times as drastic as these. A worldwide war fought with only infantry and tactics; her leaving them even if for a short while could bring down his plans.

Decepticons would no doubt be just out of sight, stealing glimpses of their base, watching the Autobots closely with dark intents. If Gaia showed herself apart they would believe they had found a weak spot in the Autobot defenses, the weak link in their chain.

Coincidentally, this was exactly the item Gaia was going to hand over to Sentinel as a symbol of trust; as a promise of her return.

Unlatching a part of her armor, Gaia withdrew a delicate gold chain before closing her armor back up. The chain was bought without anything on it, no pendant or jewels, yet it held the single most valuable item Gaia ever owned. Hanging in place of a pendant was a gold band with small diamonds embedded into the top.

Her wedding band couldn't be worn when she wore her suit and even when she wasn't it was to dangerous to wear, it would get caught on things and, if ever in such a questionable position, it could tell a powerful enemy she had soft spot for them to open fire on.

She mindlessly twirled the band between her fingers, the chain wrapping itself around her fingers. She hated to let it go with another, but she was so very hungry and thirsty, she'd never make it to the Corsair crash site if she didn't eat and drink now; Sentinel stood defiantly in her way, denying free passage to something she needed so badly.

Gaia had half a mind to tell him that her species needed to ingest food and drink else they die, yet that would mean telling him she was human and then going through how the lie came to be.

She couldn't though, not when she was so close to reaching the Corsair, not when she was but miles away from it. She'd never tell him; it would be hers and Orion's secret forever.

The Autobots allowed her this moment of silence as she held the band and chain with dexterous hands. She wouldn't let a thing happen to it, especially since her husband was dead now. This was important, so direly needed that she would pass out by tomorrow if she kept marching and never ate.

"Sentinel, I'm going to entrust you with this and I expect to have it returned to me when you come back from the outpost." Gaia stepped forward, reluctantly holding the band and chain out to him. "If you don't have it with you, if you lost it... You won't make it down from this tower."

Orion spotted the chain and band attracted; Gaia explained only one other thing in their time together that she used that tone with. It was forceful, as if she couldn't continue, though it was strong and demanding. Her voice wavered for a moment then she regained herself with the veiled threat on Sentinel's health.

If the item she handed Sentinel had anything to do with her husband, as her tone suggested, then Orion was surprised she even allowed anyone to see it, much less touch it.

With a sharp nod, Sentinel took the jewelry in his hand, regarding it curiously as he examined it. Even he, without any knowledge on human culture, could understand from what she said that this very thin chain and hallowed circular gold ring meant something of great value to her.

Not a word more, Gaia shoved the broken door open, a loud screech resonated through the staircase hall before she left their sight into the dark room.

Orion suspected the connection of the chain and band with her late husband and with Sentinel studying the item he decided it best to help his leader understand the alien artifact a bit more as they ascended the staircase. From what Gaia told Orion, this small ring on the chain must be that which signifies a human as bonded; hence its great meaning to Gaia.

It looked as she described though she never showed him it he could guess.

"I believe that is a bonding tool, Prime." He stated, bringing his leader out of his thoughts. He didn't reply, only looked at the item in new light. "It is a wedding ring, De Mercurio told me a wedding ring is unique to all bond mates and this one was given to her by her bond mate. It symbolizes their unity."

"Then that is why she showed so much concern over this small object. I thought it too small for any practical use." The chain was so thin, applying too much pressure would snap it in two and encased in a fist the ring would crumble. "Why such a small thing? It appears as it was barely holding together."

"It is a ceremony between two future bond mates where many attend as they announce their bond. She has not explained to me everything about the bonding of her people, though the quality of this ring is important to both bond mates. I am not sure, however, what happens if the ring of either bond mate is lost." Sentinel held that for a moment. What would happen? If the two are connected by the ring if they no longer had the rings, would they be separate again?

It was difficult trying to understand this alien event, but Sentinel thought it best to question her about it rather then go on possibilities.

As the Autobots left her alone, Gaia immediately removed her helmet and coughed, her throat was dry and her lips cracked. The small amount of poisoning Cybertronian air was giving her had taken affect, but nothing fatally wounding. Though the alien radiation emitting from the plant would kill her it would take at least two months before her health would become permanently damaged by the oxygen poisoning.

She had to eat and hydrate herself now though, even if it did shave a few hours off her previous gestation of survival breathing the toxic air.

It was annoying navigating the massive dark room, it was near pitch black but light snuck in through the windows making it near impossible for her to use her nightvision without blinding herself.

Stumbling over a few piles of rubble, Gaia came to sit on a fallen... Gaia blinked, she was unsure if it was wall, rubble, table, or a bench. Whatever it was, it served as the perfect spot for gazing out through the window to the rest of Cybertron while she met her stomachs demands.

Gaia had five ration bars and knew that within the next two days they'd reach the Corsair crash site, so conserving the bars was no longer an issue. With her moister collector in working order, Gaia drank the water down in large gulps; she was running on empty before hand.

With less food intake and more exercise, Gaia was unhealthily loosing her weight. She was one-fifty-three before taking up arms with the Autobots, now she was a one-forty-four; she'd take ill soon due to the loss of weight. This, unlike the toxic oxygen, would cause permanent health troubles just because of the instant drop. It was unnatural and would destroy any human's natural system.

If looking like a stick was the worst problem she'd encounter on her trip through Cybertron, she could live with that.

After downing the food and drink, Gaia's stomach felt ready to burst. It had been thirty minutes since she and the Autobots parted ways. _I ate too fast... That'll cause a problem later._ She inwardly growled, eating too fast made the digestive system work overtime to dissolve the food and drink, causing stomach pangs, cramps, and she'd get hungrier sooner.

That seemed the least of her worries at this time.

Thankfully, satisfaction set in, she felt positively worn out. So much marching, so much stress; it was a wonder she was still on her feet. It was true, she was an adrenalin junkie, but in her line of work that's the best kind of crewmate. She'd always be the one to get in a life or death situation, sticking her nose where it didn't belong. She admitted to her crew that she'd always go against code; she'd surprise them with extraordinary plans and throw them all into near death circumstances.

Some times though, the _extraordinary_ plans didn't go quite so according to plan. People died, went missing, quit; she couldn't help her nature and the military supported her. Eventually, she came to blame the people who come aboard. If they didn't want the adventure of a lifetime, her ship wasn't for them.

She remembered when she gave her Navigator a heart attack. Literally. The medic said it wasn't a large one, but he needed to take it easy for a long time.

When he was healthy enough, he left the Corsair, stating it was too dangerous for any sane person to be a part of and that only suicidal people who have nothing more in life deserve to board her ship.

The Corsair was a Kamikaze vessel, delving into untested waters as a past time; most of it included guns and turrets.

She felt the necessity to live up to expectations that were never clear to her, with her husband just as suicidal, the two made a dangerous pair; nothing didn't fall to their usual unpredicted actions. A few times they lost members, friends, but that was life, that was the military.

In such a day an age where exploration was needed even more badly then the discovery of the _New World_, now dubbed Americas, she felt the Corsair was just the ship to do that. With insane maneuvering capabilities and an adventurous crew to match, they became virtually unstoppable in Scavenger owned space.

She hated to remember the good ol' days now after the crew was gone; she'd be honest to herself, she always took it for granted even if she made a point to thank God she still had the Corsair under her feet, a husband in her chambers, and a crew equal to the Corsair's death defying stunts.

It didn't take long for Gaia to realize that her life as a spacefarer was over.

"De Mercurio?" An Autobot! Gaia snapped out of her memories, the silence now interrupted by another. She knew it wasn't Orion and with her helmet off this was a problem. "Yes, one moment! I'll be right there!" She called back, hastily shoving her pack back on her back while slamming her helmet down and latching it in place.

The Autobot wasn't far and she wasn't done yet. In her rush, her hand slipped from the cords and placed the wrong one in the wrong socket. Growling, she gripped the others and twisted them into place turning each one back where they belong.

Without noticing, the wrong cord was still plugged into the wrong receiver. Unwittingly, Gaia stood and faced the Autobot approaching. "We are leaving now, Sentinel should be along shortly, I was sent ahead to retrieve you."

"Come on then, let's go." Gaia and the Autobot, who she remembered as Sideswipe the nicer of the twins, left the empty level.

In the stairwell, Sentinel was just passing the door as the two emerged. Gaia held out her hand and waited for the return of her wedding band before greeting Sentinel in kind.

Nodding, he opened his hand, revealing the chain and band still attached and unharmed. "Ready to go, Sentinel?" She hooked the necklace back on, her hand holding on a second longer before the descended the stairs.

Orion was a little ways behind Gaia, not attracting her attention so soon. As he smiled when she twirled the band in her fingers, he spotted and odd spark on her helmet. Glancing to the cord, he awaited for it to do so again before bringing it up to Gaia. Staring at it for some time, Orion spotted nothing more and dismissed the spark of electricity as just his imagination.

When Gaia reached the bottom step she regretted eating so fast. Her stomach made all sorts of noises, earning her a few odd looks from the Autobots. She giggled, it was hilarious to watch the aliens on this planet stunned at the sounds her body could make.

They had dozens of more Autobots joining them from the outpost; the battle was going to be too large for anything less then an army to win.

"We have one more outpost before we reach your ship De Mercurio." Sentinel announced to her, "The next will take a little while longer since it will be a much larger number of Autobots joining our numbers. Once that is done, we will be heading straight in the direction of where your ship crashed."

"I guess we only have a little while longer then Sentinel," She stretched out her arms, sore from sitting stationary so long and moving so suddenly. "It's been a true honor being able to join your people, they're all great soldiers."

He grinned momentarily; it did him good to hear kind words. He didn't put on the role as a hard leader all the time, "Thank you De Mercurio, I do not look forward to your departure, though I wish you well when you do go nonetheless."

"Heh, I was just about to thank you for holding onto my wedding band." Sentinel looked down to Gaia, a smiling to her. "I would never loose such a meaningful thing such as that. I am sorry for your loss De Mercurio; most Cybertronians do not survive loosing a bond mate. I will say I am glad you did, it has been very interesting with you around."

"Orion told me that, said when one bond mate dies the other usually does not long after." Gaia shivered, "I can't imagine that. My people don't, it is hard to go through just as it is and sometimes people do kill themselves after loosing their beloved; but that's a choice... Erm, thanks anyways Sentinel, I prefer being alive to."

The older mech turned his attention back to the streets while Gaia took in the Autobots following behind. There were about as many as there were crewmembers on the Corsair Escion; each one prepared to die for what they believe in. She'd be lying if she said it didn't warm her heart to see so many soldiers ready to sacrifice themselves for the good of many.

Taking up pace again, the Autobots marched on through the dark streets of abandoned Cybertron, the cities desolate of life. Gaia remembered when she first laid eyes on this planet with her husband pointing it out.

* * *

_Just as the planet began to truly come into view, the duo in the cockpit turned attention from their offenders to the metal planet below. "Holy shit." The pilot looked on to the planet, "The hell?" The Captain narrowed her eyes. "Am I seeing this right?"_

_"Perfectly, Captain. There's nothing wrong with our holographic generators." He said, all the while staring into the planet's core._

_This planet appeared manufactured, as if it was built as a city in space. There were cities built upon asteroids or moons, even some with their own orbit pull in space without an organic rock base, but this odd metal looking planet had a golden warm glow from the core between what they could see as buildings._

_"Let me get a closer look..." The pilot licked his lips in anticipation; the oddity of this unknown world was putting him on the edge of his seat. Yet as the enlargement of the planet came, it appeared interestingly abandoned. The Captain felt a foreboding presence, something unseen and fearsome, but as they examined the surface of the planet, nothing appeared. No life, only lights that were clearly dying out, buildings rusted and destroyed, some tipping while most remained tall._

_It was clear, whatever become of the residents of this unknown planet had been wiped out not to long ago, by a force unseen and very possibly still present._

_"The fuck is this place?" The pilot stared with wide eyes constantly flicking from side to side, determined to find some glint of life._

_"Where are we?" The Captain gaped in awe, never in her years of service, traveling to worlds uncharted, species unseen, and unmapped vastness of space had she seen a space city built in place of a planet, not on this scale. It was utterly remarkable; it was too bad she couldn't report this sighting to her superiors or the archives._

_"We are on the edge of the Void ma'am; it seems that this planet has never been on record, much less has anyone actually been in this area since the great Void Barrier Project."_

* * *

Gaia smiled, the memory still fresh in her mind. It was a hard ride to the planet surface; it was a crying shame it ended the Corsair Escion's long service record.

It was bittersweet now that she looked back on it, the trip to Cybertron was perilous, and every turn was fraught with Scavengers trying desperately to stop their approach of the barely inhabited manufactured planet. The entire time they fought off Scavengers and never had a hit with another planet nearby.

In fact, all the planets nearby were dead, devoid of resources and only one or two held Scavenger headquarters. The other planets were surrounded by asteroid fields; the gravity of the dead planets had mostly deteriorated after so many centuries of suffocation in the Void.

Gaia was interested in knowing why the Scavengers were here in the first place. Without a proper resource to sell they wouldn't make any money holding this patch of the Void and since it was the Void, no Wayfarer's even went in this direction; hence why Cybertron wasn't discovered sooner.

If they didn't gain resources, they must've had another reason for having such a large concentration of Scavengers in the area.

A light bulb flicked on, Gaia resisted the urge to smack herself. How could she not see this sooner? The Scavengers were _right there_ with the Corsair Escion above Cybertron. How truly bad had her common sense gotten from being exposed to this alien planet?

The Scavengers _knew_ all about Cybertron; it was a cash cow. Landing on the surface without resistance, no one was there to stop them from taking Cybertronian technology or even making bases on this planet. Most likely, since they must've known this planet was a never ending gold mine, that they were here, somewhere, smuggling alien technology offworld and back into their space.

With her crash on the planet, Scavengers must've already been trying to reach the Corsair to utilize military weaponry; with it, they could lock down this entire sector of the Void, destroying any and all military personnel from entering this space. If they get their hands on the Corsair model schematics, if the study the Corsair Escion's skeleton; this galaxy could face a whole new side to the Scavenger - United Nations battling.

It could escalate to a full scale war.

They were here and they had to know the Corsair was.

* * *

_**Errrrrk! Stop right there!** Review replies will be posted at the top! :)_


	12. Electric Pains

_**The Next Life**._

_By Kaimaler._

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**HEY HEY HEY! Read this please!**

**Please, take the opportunity to go to my user page and at the very top they'll be a "Poll", please! Vote! Your vote counts! :D**  
When it's over, I'll rally the votes and publish my new story! I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone chooses! Currently, only two people have voted so I'm sad right now. But! With any luck (of which I have NONE) more people will go and vote on the poll while they have the chance.

You can decide my next story! Though options are limited I'm willing to hear any suggestions, send me a PM if you have any at all! I may say yes! :)

**Review Replies:**

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_Teddy-wabbitz: _

___I was particularly pleased with the outcome of the, as you titled it ;), Wedding Band Plot. It was, as it was meant to be, a sweet turn around from the latest chapters. Also, you'll see we're nearing the Corsair Escion in this chapter.  
And another reader got it right, who? I'm not telling because that would be a spoiler. I'm also not telling him/her either. 'Cause I want you to keep guessing! :)_

**_Horser01:_**_ Oooh, she won't. :)_

_Or maybe she will?... Who knows? I do and I'mma' let you guess! But she will die._

_..._

_Or not... Maybe she dies in this chapter?...? ... ?_

_Yeah I'll stop, all I will say is that what's going on probably isn't what readers expect (or want) to happen. But hey! I'm the author! I CAN DO WAT AH WANT_

_Actually, because it's kinda' obvious in this chapter, Ratchet will become more involved as will someone else who you'll see a little of in this chapter.  
Take into account that if it wasn't Scavengers, the Corsair Escion would've been able to relize that they weren't. That'll be explained a bit later in the story, but it's no big deal. Scavenger's are like galactic cockroaches, they're everywhere and can do major damage._

_As always, thanks for reviewing! :)_

**_Great Diabla Assassin:_**_ OOooooOOoOoOo, WHY DO YOU KNOW THESE THINGS? ER I MEAN NO, NO IT DOES NOT.  
Actually, I've done a bit of editing on this matter, since it's so delicate and that all readers are anxious about the discovery of her true identity. So many people feel that it would be more realistic if Sentinel reacted harshly while others think he should be cool with it after all this._

_Naturally, I'm not telling. I'M A MAGICIAN AND I NEVER REVEAL MY SECRETS! But all I will say is that, compared to the original script, the discovery of Gaia's alien identity has changed a good number of times, some with a better outcome some... not so much. ;)_

_Wow, really?... I though I was getting worse for some reason... I felt a little out of spirits last few chapters and you liked them so much? Whoa, I'm thrilled you liked them so much! _:D

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Gaia felt an unusual itch on the side of her neck, without the ability to pull open her armor and scratch it; she'd try to reach it through her suit, constantly running her fingers over the area until she was sure it was red.

Unfortunately, it would return every few moments with a vengeance, forcing her to have another try at satisfying the annoying itch.

After enough tries, Gaia began drawing attention to herself and stopped before she gained too much. It was difficult, the itch spread around the area, burning veins. She figured she must be having a reaction to the toxic air, to the radiation levels, or her suit had rubbed the area raw, creating a stinging rash on the side of her neck.

For whatever reason it was there, she told herself to check it out once they reached the next outpost which thankful wasn't but a few hours away.

Orion was directly beside Gaia. This was progress, he grinned to himself, she was actually taking part of the Autobots' march to battle. He knew it wouldn't last long, one more day and he'd say his final goodbyes to the strange female alien beside him now.

Though, with all that's happened, he prefers to stay in the moment. To see her and to march beside her both as soldiers, both with individual goals.

Yes, he was pleased she walked with him and his brothers in arms. It was all going to end within the next day, but he had the time now to spend with her even if it did just mean walking in silence.

Which she seemed adamant about doing. He saw another try to strike up a conversation, stating something along the lines of, "So, you're from out there." The mech pointed skyward, Orion remembered the blue and silver mech; Blur. "There a lot of racers up there to?"

Orion wasn't especially close to the speedster, but he had fought with him plenty of times to see Blur wasn't a push around on the battlefield. He did things quickly, as he liked taking one by one and let other Autobots sort out the rest. Before they knew it, the Decepticons would be outnumbered and forced to retreat.

Blur was generally a rough mech, very self-serving most of the time, but he knew when he was needed; he'd change instantly. It would be another's offlining he'd fight for, even Orion had been picked up once or twice by Blur. Was a true shame the mech insisted on polishing his ego (and his armor) rather then his firearm.

Gaia nodded to the odd blue Autobot who pushed his way passed others just to walk with her. She heard him from afar, but didn't concern herself right away and it wasn't until he addressed her she even had an idea to speak with him.

"Racers? Yeah, Daytona, Talladega, horse racing, dog racing. We got a lot of kinds of racing, why?" She leaned away while he leaned in. It was quickly becoming awkward. Just as his arm wrapped around her back to her shoulder, she decided it was awkward.

"Before the whole Decepticon plot to take over Cybertron, I raced." Orion huffed; he was polishing his ego tonight. "Ah, were you good?" Gaia kept looking back to the area, searching for Decepticon sniper positions, but something told her looking away from this somewhat eccentric mech was a bad idea; and not just for her.

"Good?" He laughed, "I was the best." Some reason she doubted that, most athletes who boast about their sport and place within it were over exaggerating themselves.

"Wonderful." She was jerked towards Blur; he had a cocky smirk plastered on his face. Orion resisted scolding the mech, that smirk was befitting of Starscream. "Who's the best where you're from, De Mercurio?"

_He's really into this racing thing._ Gaia grimaced; he was attached to her like a leech. Only problem was that she couldn't decide if shoving him off was a bad thing or every Autobot here was accustomed to this behavior and was fine if she denied him his boasting.

"In which form of racing? Running, cycling, boating, driving, flying, horse racing, or dog racing?" Gaia smiled as he attempted to figure out what she was talking about.

"What's a dog?"

Her turn to laugh, Orion didn't know either and while interested, relished in the look on Blur's faceplates. Confused and slightly offended.

"A dog is an animal native to the _human_ home world, Earth." Gaia was very thankful she could throw words into different contexts easily. "It's a furry, four-legged animal that can be anywhere between only a few inches tall to forty inches. However, in profession dog racing we use a specific breed. A greyhound is the breed of choice and is led around an oval track by a lure."

Blur seemed to be processing the new information for a moment before he concluded that this wasn't what he was looking for. "What's a horse?"

"How about we just stick to running, okay?" Gaia really didn't want to go into more details. Animals were animals, just as she was human and Orion was Cybertronian.

"Fine then, who's the best at that?" Blur resumed his prior gloating. "I'd have to say Markus Daughtry, he's rather famous. He won in the Olympics." She shrugged, sports wasn't her strong suit. Still, Blur was beyond interested in the subject; he dug himself a big further.

Gaia rolled her eyes; he was into racing like a man to football. Very typical, in an odd alien kind of way.

The front row stiffened, the marching stopped abruptly. Something was in their path or someone spotted a Decepticon, either way it couldn't be good. Gaia glanced to Orion, the two deciding to find out what it was holding up their march.

Pushing past Autobots, Gaia easily slipping in between them while Orion had difficulty trying to get his blocky frame through the crowd.

Gaia heard talking, someone was speaking to Sentinel and though it didn't sound urgent, it was enough to grab the attention of the leaders. It was a split second Gaia rationalized that this didn't concern her, that it was the Autobots' business that she wasn't a part of. Yet she felt she needed to see if they could use her help, her rifle, or exclude her.

There was still a chance it was her business and they would need her. The odds won out and Gaia finally arrived on the other side of the marching army, to see Sentinel, Prowl, Ratchet, Ironhide, Kup, and a few other Autobots standing still, staring at something on the street.

Prowl was questioning Ratchet, asking what it was while Kup and Ironhide shared a confused look.

Gaia, however, immediately recognized the body that blocked their path.

She stepped towards the mangled corpse which lay on the side of the street, blood pooled around the wounded limbs and body. It was charred, beaten, and as far as Gaia could tell, was a crewmember attempting to escape the wreckage of the Corsair Escion only a day's journey away. He obviously had made it this far by himself, but his injuries caught up to him and he bled to death.

"De Mercurio?" She heard Orion behind her, she'd be staring at the body for a few minutes now and everyone was beginning to wonder. Gaia couldn't find her voice; even if she could she didn't trust it.

She knew fine well that seeing her crewmate deceased was enough to rattle the best of Captains, but now she was worried about how hard it'd hit when she reached the Corsair; it would be devastating. If she felt like this now, with the remains of both the legacy of the Corsair and her crew, how would she deal with the weight?

Gaia always thought herself strong enough to handle death and she was right; but with her entire life's work and people she's been close to for years ended suddenly through a disaster she caused? If those in the shuttle didn't make it back then everyone she cared about is gone and she was ready to throw her name into the pile.

Pressure gained, her own petty concerns made her feel unbelievably guilty, her own survival made her feel selfish. Gaia dropped to her knees, the corpse was only a few days old and she could still she clearly who it was.

Second Lieutenant Klaus Meinhardt, her hand picked soldier who always came through in a firefight, eventually he had shot right to a promotion. He was a good soldier and a great friend, Gaia feared for only one thing. His family on Earth, he was an Earthborn boy with no problems and a decent living. He had a family, wife and one kid back home.

Gaia wanted nothing more then to go back and switch places with him, let her being the rotting corpse and him the hidden alien amongst Cybertronians.

Sentinel figured it out quickly, one by one; others did and stayed back from the grieving Captain. She was alone and the best they could do was offer her escort to her ship. Even that didn't promise safety, she'd nearly been shot when caught in two stand offs with Decepticon scouting parties, was slowly dying at the hands of nature, and already suffering the loss of her people in silence.

Orion, however, knew Gaia more personally then the rest of them and broke the barrier between them and the lost alien. "De Mercurio," He stepped forward, seeing her still sit on the ground without voicing a reply. "I am sorry." He kneeled next to her; there were so many things he couldn't find the words to say.

She was good Captain? How could he say that truthfully when he doesn't know a bit about her time as Captain, for all he knew she was a cruel Captain, hated by her crew. What else, tell her it was going to be alright? Another lie he could not rightfully say. She had already warned him of the chances of her being rescued; while slim, they had been just what Gaia needed to push through the obstacles in her path. Now, looking at her slumped over, none of her prior Captain demeanor in sight... She appeared limp and miserable.

Klaus was gone; did he try to reach out to military channels? Was it even possible? Was she walking into a pit of despair, only fooling herself that she may be saved?

Why couldn't she move? Gaia heard Orion's voice; they were concerned over her sudden quiet. By now they put together the pieces; she crash landed on Cybertron and was separated from her crew. This man was part of her crew and with him lying lifeless before her; she felt the familiar pain of failure and regret.

Sentinel knew that pain and, while he dealt with the problems of his own feelings away from the Autobots, they all saw when he was bothered by an event. Here Gaia sat right in front of his army, without the armor that she so fiercely wore since they met. She'd show him her thoughts on certain things, allowing him to understand her better, yet never to the point of close personal emotions.

Not like this in other words. If she didn't expose her true colors previously, he didn't want her to feel vulnerable around his own Autobots; it would start a chain reaction, discomfort, alertness, eventually she may stray from them. Sentinel wagered that though he knew some details about her life in space, he was still oblivious to most.

Orion was best to console her, if he couldn't bring her hopes up, no one could.

With this spike in tension, the Autobots felt the need to give her and Orion space, allowing them to speak freely; somewhat. Orion still used her last name, still acted like she was a Cybertronian from space. He feared no with this new development, she may not return to her usual state.

He wanted her back, he wanted to be selfish and force her back into reality. They had to keep moving forward to face the Decepticon threat and while Sentinel would wait patiently for some time, he would be obligated to order the Autobots to march with or without her. Orion needed her too; she was a proud warrior who didn't need this right now.

"Who was he?" Orion rested a hand on her back, "Second Lieutenant Klaus Meinhardt. He hadn't been aboard the Corsair for long." _He's only a kid._ Gaia wanted an excuse to feel worse for his death so when she reached the Corsair Escion she'd be able to stand straight and not collapse. Which she has just become aware she has done.

In all honesty, Gaia dealt with the deaths of much younger soldiers; some just out of college and even some who never finished it. He signed up for the notorious suicide ship, his death isn't unprecedented. If the military was to be told of his passing, he would be given the same respectful send off as any other soldier, captain or private.

Nor was it his age that forced such a strong reaction. It was the remnants of her responsibility. She told herself that if she didn't feel this guilt that she couldn't in all rights tell herself a good captain or accept praise from anybody else about it. Unfortunately, this guilt came in waves; she ordered the ship to make a course for an uncharted region of Scavenger space.

The _Captain_ killed the crew.

She felt her eyes roll shut, out of exhaustion and a new form of hurt she'd never felt before, not even when she believed her husband slept with another woman. Nothing this bad ever hit her and now she didn't know what do to, what the proper reaction should be.

Suddenly, Gaia felt exhausted, like every bit of energy had been drained from her body. This daunting sight only struck fear in her as to what she'd see inside the Corsair's skeleton remains. If she returned to UN space the best they could do is dishonorable discharge from service and Gaia didn't feel like that would be enough to punish her actions.

Orion urged her to stand, to leave with them. Gaia agreed, and with his aid, she raised to her feet again, stopping in front of Klaus for only a moment. "Rest in peace, brother." She leaned down, trying her hardest to ignore the blood staining her gloves as she lifted his head, reached around the back and disconnected the memory program, then laid his head gently back down

Distancing herself from the body, Gaia finally turned to see the Autobots all standing behind her, each one with a different expression of pity, sadness, and a few just wanting to tell her how sorry they are that this had happened. Each one knew loss, some in greater ways then others, so every Autobot here could offer their understanding.

Only Orion could approach her though, only he knew so much about her.

"Let's go." Sentinel nodded and gestured them to continue marching, as they did, Orion stood close by Gaia looking prepared to catch her if she falls for some unknown, and to him alien, reason.

Orion would almost stare at her without interruption, glancing away just to see where they were headed and if their steps were cleared of debris. Gaia wasn't disturbed by his overprotection, she could handle herself fine and the crewmembers aboard the Corsair knew as much. Nothing got in the way of the renowned space adventurer that had comic books written after her. Of course, some exaggerated.

Gaia didn't look up from the memory program, the small orb-like computer that served as a personal logging to every soldier in the UN military. It had six short, tubes barely as thick as her pinky finger, all with two prongs at the end. The small memory orb had one flat side that would connect into the back of a helmet, recording all HUD and personal activity when activated. The tubes slotted into ports located on one's helmet and download their previous logs or start a setup system to begin logging data.

Klaus used this right before he died; the orb always logged memory even when it wasn't asked to. For soldiers slacking off, it became a reason to do their job, and for deceased soldiers it became a way to solve their deaths and find out how to bring justice to whomever killed the late soldier. Sometimes, very rarely, a soldier in the space corps would die of more natural means, but it was so rare that those stories were reported in a public newsflash. Unfortunate, but true.

Gaia wasn't even sure if she wanted to see his last hours in pain, slowly dying after waking up to a destroyed ship, dead friends, and alone on new planet. All horrible things to see and since she saw them herself she wasn't too afraid of them, but she was weak when it came to hopelessness and Klaus went through that feeling and still tried to survive.

He was a determined man, never giving up under any circumstance. Gaia liked that about him when she first saw his request to come aboard. No one ever requested a position on the Corsair Escion, they had to be recruited forcibly and at times some would accept it with minimal concern.

It was the only way to prepare herself for the Corsair; if she already saw it then when she arrives she'll be quicker to sending a mayday out. Easier to see the dead wasn't an option, she wouldn't be able to enter right away, to just walk in and be situated. It would take some time, maybe an hour or so to finally function enough to start finding out what she had to do to survive this.

She wasn't going to do it now, it would disrupt her attention and if Decepticons attack she'd be the easiest target in the history of firefights. Instead, she stored the memory orb in her pack and continued on, her mind returning to the field.

In perfect timing to.

Gaia's sensors read a skyrocketing level of sulfur dioxide, a strong pollutant. At first, she wasn't concerned; her suit would filter clean air through and stop the sulfur from contaminating her suit. The sulfur was strong enough to actually harm her either.

That was up until her suit's nitrogen oxide level increased along with the sulfur and in reply to this strange spike, her HUD flashed a warning in her sight, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"Sentinel!" She called, the large mech turned to her, stopping the army behind them. "Yes De Mercurio?"

It wasn't until the nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and water vapors all began condensing right above their heads. She'd seen it only a few times before, some planets having it in abundance while some rarely show it. Earth had a growing concern for pollution released as it raised the frequency at which rain wasn't actually rain. If it wasn't for the fact she had seen this exact thing happen before, she wouldn't have caught it so quickly.

"Wet deposition..." Gaia was all too happy she paid attention at science class. Her screen, instead of flashing a red warning sign switched to a more specific one.

"Acid rain!"

The Autobots turned their attention skyward, the first few drops landing on the street, releasing vapors as it burned through the metal. All Autobots quickly searched for cover, diving to nearby buildings or under rubble.

Gaia hissed, the acid made its way through her suit with the first few drops of acid, searing straight through her skin. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but she had to find a place to hide for the time being.

Sometimes she hated standing in the middle of the street and this was one of those times.

Looking to either side, she saw a tower which doors had been sealed shut by debris, another that wasn't going to stand up much longer, and a double tower some Autobots had been diving into while others sought out other means.

Darting through the rain that gained in weight as time went on; Gaia shielded her helmet with her forearms, blocking the rain from penetrating her visor or oxygen tubes.

Taking a running jump, Gaia landed safely with the Autobots who pulled her in the second she was close enough. The acid rain pelted down, showering the streets and towers, burning the street lights and roads. It was going to take some time before they could cross again.

Orion saw her across the road diving for cover. He didn't know what acid rain did to humans, but he wasn't going to assume she wasn't harmed by it without her telling him. So, he stayed inside the tower waiting with the other Autobots for the acid rain to stop.

He did think that the others would take the opportunity to question her more and he was right.

On the opposite side, Gaia thanked the Autobots for pulling her in while brushing off rubble from her armor, checking a few holes for acid residue. She took a seat nearby the entrance, looking at the damage done to her forearms. They still burned, the acid barely touching her skin but just enough that she could feel.

While patching her forearms up, wrapping them with adhesive gauze, Gaia noticed the Autobots watching her work.

"Do you need something?" She asked without raising her head, busy with the gauze.

Some Autobots backed away, seeming to shy from her question while others glanced to each other then to her. "Actually, we wanted to know what you are doing. If you do not mind."

Gaia wasn't in the mood for answering questions, the curiosity ran in Autobots like it did humans and she knew she was going to be dealing with interested Autobots. "Acid rain got through my suit and is burning into my forearms, so I'm using this gauze to stop it. It'll neutralize the acid, stop the burning, and heal any damage done over time." The Autobots smiled, some coming even closer. Gaia almost growled, she wasn't over seeing Klaus like that and all she wanted was room to think while they were stuck there.

"Something as weak as this can do all that?" An Autobot examined the material wrapping she tightened on her forearm.

"Yeah, it serves as a solvent and a sealer." She spouted out basic information, something any soldier would know. Adhesive wraps that incorporated antiseptics and some anesthesia supported the entire base of on field medical necessities. After it was released to the military it became a must-have for all militants. Not a one was without this medical bandage.

The Autobots seemed so far interested they leaned in to see it better; scanning the gauze like their lives depended on it. Gaia was sure that this gauze wouldn't even affect a Cybertronian, much less heal them, but it did wonders on human anatomy and it even boosted the immune system temporarily as to eliminate the possibility of becoming infected.

Then there was Wheeljack. Somehow she ended up in the same building as the inventor and he went so deep into details Gaia couldn't comprehend what he was saying anymore.

"Excuse me?" Gaia had finished by the time Wheeljack stopped rambling, throwing around possibilities of why the gauze would work, even sending some her way. All Gaia knew about it was that it worked, better then earlier models and she needed it. That was it.

Wheeljack sighed, "I said does this flimsy thing stop one from leaking energon?" Gaia blinked. Another language barrier, just like what happened when Orion mentioned the Decepticons to her for the first time. It translated roughly to _deception_.

This clearly incorrect translation was _energy_ in her language, clearly the word he used didn't exist in her dialect just as _Autobot_ and _Decepticon_ didn't. She'd play this safe, without saying she didn't know what he was talking about; she may come off like an idiot.

"I wouldn't know." She mumbled, trying to work her way out of it. Wheeljack seemed confused, "How can you not know? You said this repaired damages, how could you not know if it stopped energon?"

_Uuuh oh_. Gaia figured this mistake out, whatever this _energy_ was it was inside a Cybertronians. _Like blood maybe?_ She wouldn't say a thing, just in case. Instead she packed up her medkit and stood up, walking away from the crowd. "I'm going to watch the rain fall, bye." She scurried off, leaving the group behind.

Wheeljack was eccentric but a genius, he had his suspicions about De Mercurio, none of which particularly good for the stranded woman. After compiling a log of actions, words, and phrases she used, as well as basic movement, Wheeljack used his own knowledge of Cybertronian anatomy and knew, without a doubt, something was wrong.

Others would pass it over, saying it was nothing. Ratchet would understand, perhaps even support his ideas about De Mercurio.

After she mentioned the existence of aliens elsewhere in the never ending galaxy, Wheeljack began looking into it. The possibility of alien life hadn't been calculated before, yet when he saw the results of his testing he made a guess.

This _human_ race, wherever they may be and whatever they may look like, was exactly what De Mercurio was. It explained the odd names, strange amount of flexibility that no Cybertronian had, and many other speech related differences.

Granted, the chance that she was simply an advanced form of Cybertronian that had to change their form and ways of procedure just to live in space could also be the case, a solid one as well, but it didn't feel right to Wheeljack and so long as that option remained he wasn't going to speak up to anyone aside from Ratchet about it.

He was a mad genius before the war, able to solve the most trying of cases. He could spot a miscalculation at a passing glance and was often used for just such a task.

Ratchet would hear from him.

* * *

There was time now, the acid rain wouldn't stop until all the sulfur, nitrogen, and moisture was depleted.

Gaia saw the sulfur rising some time ago, nitrogen would fluctuate on different planets, but nothing was enough to worry her and now, in the back of a large tower away from the Autobots below, she found that it finally formed a dangerous substance that happened all around the galaxy.

Some planets rarely even stopped releasing acid deposition. With pollution levels as high as they were, older, dying planets would often produce acid.

It didn't matter now; on Cybertron apparently it wasn't uncommon to them. Gaia was relieved, now that she looked back, that acid rain was something even Cybertronians were weak to. If they weren't and she made a big deal about it, she'd look foolish and probably have to wait to catch up with them later.

Not a pleasant thought, but it was better then the blood stained memory orb she held in her hands.

She didn't want to see what he saw, to feel what he felt, but she also felt a deep yearning to learn the fate of her crew; to prepare herself for the inevitable. Seeing the Corsair littered with bodies would be hard to push through, she had to brace herself for the impact and seeing what Klaus saw was the only way.

And that incessant yearning to learn the truth about the fate of her crew gnawed at her mind every second she held the memory orb was excruciating. Her hand felt like it stung, pins and needles eating away every time her fingers tapped the surface of the orb. Her leg twitched, bouncing as her foot clicked against the floor.

Her mind held two options, connect the memory orb or don't.

The thought of ignoring the orb, turning away from the truth that lay hidden within the programming caused an even worse ache. Her heart pounded, she felt a headache coming on.

She had to, it was her duty as Klaus' Captain to listen to his final moments and wish for the lesser evil in this situation. It was still an evil, but she would rather accept his pain as her own, his life on her shoulders, rather then dismiss it. That felt like a horrible idea now, it felt as if she was planning on throwing his life away, saying he was no more then a useful gun she had disassembled and sold as parts.

That's not who she was, ignoring her place as Captain would be the worst and the guilt, bad as it was already, would only get heavier.

Inserting the orb with her helmet on would force the system to reboot, blacking out for a few minutes before it returned with the setup menu so she could pick and chose what moments she wanted to see. During that time, she'd be blind. The HUD would go pitch black and all she'd see was the inside of her helmet, light trying to pass the HUD blackout screen.

Gaia wouldn't remove her helmet right now and insert the orb as all soldiers were told to do. Too much of a risk, another Autobot could walk in while her helmet was off and everything would be blown. They were, after all, just down the hall.

Raising the orb above her head, she turned it around for a moment before the prongs found their slots and clicked in place. The orb wasn't connected, she'd have to plug in the small tubes and then push and lock the orb into place before it turned on.

Doing this blind sighted wasn't helping. Her HUD was still on and she could see the ruined backroom she took shelter in for now. It took ten minutes to turn and plug the tubes into the right slots; once in, however, her HUD began flashing a warning sigh. _"Warning: Activating Memory Core will shut down personal Heads Up Display (HUD) system, please stand by._"

Gaia had read the warning before, wasn't the first time she plugged a memory core into her helmet without taking it off first.

Reaching back to the orb, Gaia pressed it in and turned the top piece into place, her helmet locking it down and began running the setup menu. Instantly, the HUD shut off and complete darkness engulfed her sight. The Memory Orb was trying to integrate itself to her personal settings; she could hear the quiet sounds of her helmet beeping and information rushing through to meet its goal.

_Dammit._ Gaia cursed, the itch returned viciously. Scratching it through her suit was far to difficult, she'd had to stick it out until the HUD returned then, at least, lift her helmet somewhat to pull the suit down and get it back for its annoyingly bad timing.

She winced, feeling the itch gradually increasing. Now it was more like needles puncturing her neck. That felt far too strong to be a normal itch, but Gaia sighed and tried her hardest to ignore it. Acknowledging the itch would only make it worse anyways, she'd have to get her mind on something else.

Groaning, Gaia tired to think about Klaus, moments she'd shared with him, battles they fought together. It was becoming hard to even think, her mind blanking out while the painful itch spread.

Without warning, the itch changed into a sharp sting running down her neck to her chest and up her neck to her jaw and ear. This wasn't normal, something was wrong and inserting the Memory Orb was agitating it.

As she went to disconnect the Orb, her arm lit up with a fiery pain as did her jaw. Her head felt like it was splitting, she'd had migraines before and thanks to her position the military thought her too valuable to surrender just due to painful headaches and they fixed it. This wasn't anything like the migraines she toughed out, this was sharper, more defined.

This was electricity.

Her only working hand shot to the Memory Orb, trying desperately to disconnect it now. A few tubes unplugged while she struggled to yank the orb out, only succeeding to short circuit slots.

Gaia felt a powerful shock run through her as her HUD rebooted, opening up by telling her it was loading only for the screen to black out with a snap of electricity.

Short circuited slots sparked the cable that caused the malfunction zapped repeatedly while the protective shell of the Memory Orb cracked. Her suit lost all pressure, the oxygen tube hissing with its release and her suit, in reply to the HUD blowing, shut down completely.

Along with Gaia, who fell to the metal floor unconscious.

* * *

**OH LOL EVERYBODY!  
I can't believe I'm having sooooo many problems but... **It seems it is true! FF is giving me some bitching about writing, some reason using "**Bold**", "_Italic_", or "Underlined" scripting has actually _deleted_ parts of my work.

So lately, when you guys see a weird skip in the story or a... unfinished sentence, it's actually FF's document programming giving me shit about the styles I use from time to time...  
When I was checking over this manually I discovered _ten _unfinished sentences that had been deleted thanks to FF. A few times part of a sentence or paragraph would center itself. Like centering in the middle of the page so it caused a chain reaction of glitches that I had to go through and fix.

Other then that, if you see anything odd, tell me and I'll fix it right away! I can't have that kinda' stuff popping up. Doesn't say good things about my writing skill. :)

Thanks you guys, you're all AWESOMESAUSE and I look forward to hearing from you on this latest installment!


	13. Options

_**The Next Life**_

_By Kaimaler_.

* * *

**HEY HEY HEY! Read this please!**

**Please, take the opportunity to go to my user page and at the very top they'll be a "Poll", please! Vote! Your vote counts! :D**  
When it's over, I'll rally the votes and publish my new story! I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone chooses! Currently, only two people have voted so I'm sad right now. But! With any luck (of which I have NONE) more people will go and vote on the poll while they have the chance.

You can decide my next story! Though options are limited I'm willing to hear any suggestions, send me a PM if you have any at all! I may say yes! :)

**_ALSO!:_**

**_For the first time, we will not be seeing Gaia exactly, we'll be focusing on the Autobots completely while they do their stuff! :)_**

**_Aaaaand unfortunately, when completing this actually two days ago FF LOGGED ME OUT. WITHOUT SAVING. :[ It's very easy to say I'm pissed as I had over 1,000, perhaps even 2,000 words unsaved because it decided to use the worst possible time to log me out automatically._**

**_I'm mad. Very, very, very, very, very, very mad._**

**_So, you could've had this chapter immediately after the last one was published, but no. FF had to be a bitch. EVERYONE THANK FF. (_**_!**)**_

**Review Replies:**

_**Horser01:  
**__I know! I was actually able to do a totally evil cliffhanger! I can't believe I snuck that one in there! :D I feel so successful!  
Anyways, yeah, quick update. WOULD'VE BEEN QUICKER but FF had to start screwing up. Don't you hate that "Sign me in for 3 days." bullshit? It's like "No, I would not like to be signed in for 3 fucking days. I'd like to be signed in UNTIL I SIGN OUT."_

___-.- Obviously, FF signed be out because it had been three days since I signed in... And I lost most of my work on this chapter. So, in turn, that means you lost a day of reading plus a 1,000-1,500 words in the process._

___Did all I could to fill it in though, but I'm sooooo tired... Well, thanks for reviewing! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**___Great Diabla Assassin:_**___  
_Ooooh yeah, Wheeljack's got this mystery under his belt. I mean, it was only a matter of time, ya? Of course he (or some other technical genius of the Autobots) figured this little connundrum out.

_~ZAAAAAAAP~! Yeeah, that's gotta' hurt. I meant to put more into it, to explain the pain someone feels when being electrocuted so... badly. I got electrocuted by a small appliance once and IT HURT BBAAAAAD. All my muscles touched tensed up, they felt tight and tied up. The stinging sensation went away after a little, but since Gaia blacked out instantly when the worst came then... she wouldn't have time to sense all those strange aches._

_I wanted at least something with Blur, though he'll be used more as we continue in the story. :)_

**_GBscientist:_**_  
Oh, hello new reviewer! :)_

_I wanted to fit more in there, but then it'd be like Wheeljack droning on about human nature we _all_ know already and... that wasn't a good idea. Though I personally find an alien taking about human nature very, very interesting. (as I try to adjust it to their mindset so it's more realistic)_

_1.) Ooh, that's an idea. I'm glad someone's thinking on the right track. After all, an object can only take so much abuse. My computer will burn out after some time, yours will too. My MP3 player will eventually break too, so what's to stop Gaia's suit, which is designed to handle extreme conditions, from acutally failing after so much. I can easily, without spoiling anything, tell you that Gaia's suit will die out eventually, but you'll find out when. :)_

_2.) Hurk. Another good idea GB, however, I'm not using the Allspark; I'm using the Matrix as the symbol of the Autobots, as it originally was and Primus the creator of Cybertronians.  
While this is an ingenius idea and I'd love to use it (so many things you can do with it!) I'm afraid Gaia will not be Elita One (or some other femme transformer) and instead, Elita One may or may not make an appearance in the... possible, I don't know if I'm going to do it yet, sequel._

_I'm excited to hear from such an interested reader! It makes me want to work harder on these chapters just for people like you! :)_

_Also, that theory about the Scavengers has been debunked. A lot of readers have been thinking that and I've answered it for them so as to avoid confusion._

_Gaia and her entire crew knew that this system of planets that holds Cybertron was notorious for being inhabited by Scavengers, but since it was so far away from Earth and other major human-inhabited planets, it wasn't a problem so long as they didn't expand.  
Since the Corsair Escion was also known to travel to dangerous systems and engage enemies like Scavengers, Gaia and her crew took this as another adventure, unknowingly discovering the alien planet Cybertron._

_Scavengers use Cybertron as a gold mine, many of their Black Market trades are done so with alien technology. Decommissoned weaponry, computers, medical equipment, etc. etc. So, when I said eariler that Scaverngers use this planetary system as a mass base of operation, I was telling the truth, although I did know it would raise questions in readers. :)_

_Later, we'll learn more about it, but wouldn't you think that, because the Corsair's crew has seen just about everything this galaxy has to offer, they would relize that the ships attacking them weren't human vessels or the alien specie they encountered years ago. They'd notice it immediately, alien aircraft engaging them would ruin any chance of friendship between Gaia and any cybertronian; she'd always be suspicious and watchful._

_So, awesome review GB! Thanks for the input and I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D_

* * *

With their visitors quick departure they suspected her desire to be in private, perhaps stemming from her offlined ally they had came across.

Most Autobots remained near the door, prepared to leave the moment the acid rain stopped while De Mercurio ventured deeper into the tower, something they wanted to warn her against as she'd take more time rejoining them, but at the time it wasn't the best of ideas. Instead, Blur agreed he would fetch her when the time came. He did want to continue that talk they had earlier.

For the time being, Wheeljack was working on his case to Ratchet. Though the inventor could easily use his radio to contact him, it still wasn't enough to convince the medic he was right or even was onto something.

De Mercurio showed no signs of betrayal, she didn't even know what the Decepticons were until Sentinel and Orion explained them to her and afterwards she shrugged it off, like she still didn't understand but wasn't about to ask for _more_ intel.

The femme hadn't been with them long, only a week or so now, yet Sentinel grew fond of her. She was leader so they found familiar comfort in each other's presence. Sentinel led an army of Autobots and De Mercurio led, what it sounded like to the Autobots, a very large group of militants from her home.

Where was that exactly? Wheeljack was resourceful and used an old work bench as his small base of classified operation and was still trying to answer that question.

Was she _human_ or cybertronian? If she was like them, could she even be considered one due to so many differences with her frame compared to theirs? Or was she this human specie she had mentioned and she was lying to Sentinel and the Autobots about what she was.

Wheeljack couldn't say the latter was correct, but in either case, alien or a revision of cybertronian anatomy, she didn't speak up and that was a problem.

As the femme retreated to the back room, Wheeljack took the opportunity to begin his work, compiling all events in which he saw as strange or downright impossible for a cybertronian of any build.

At first she wasn't seen as anything more then a lost Neutral, while that could be true, she also claimed that she was a Neutral and that her people left Cybertron when the war became too much...

How could she _not _know about Decepticons then?... It was a loophole! Wheeljack praised himself, the cover story De Mercurio must've been put together quite hastily since this was such a blatant hole in her story. Marking this topic for later, Wheeljack continued his studies.

If she wasn't Neutral, as she claimed and evidence was now supporting, and if she was human; why lie? What was she hiding? A pact with Decepticons? Trying to keep her race a secret from them? Or was she hiding something else more... dangerous?

_One thing at a time._ Wheeljack inwardly scolded himself. He knew if he let his processor run wild he'd come up with the wildest of claims and stray from his actual goal.

De Mercurio appeared with Orion from the Gladiatorial Arena used by the Decepticons before the war, it was a possible base of operation (though not their main base) and while they had already scouted it after the battle with the Decepticons who did use the Arena as a very large outpost, they also discovered one of Megatron's right hand mechs were there.

Sentinel took off after the fleeing mech when he found they were loosing. Orion was focused on the battle and protecting his brothers in arms rather then Sentinel who was more then capable of dealing with a few lesser Decepticons.

In the heat of battle, some Decepticons escaped while others fell. Sentinel was no where in sight and Orion had become separated from the group. It wasn't the first time this had happened; Orion was a very straight forward soldier who had one goal in battle but countless ways to achieve it.

Then, as they finally noticed Orion's absence, they returned to the Arena to find him safe and sound, not a Decepticon in sight and De Mercurio standing beside him. Orion spared no time greeting them before explaining her sudden and very unexpected appearance.

The twins, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had been the first to outright say she was a Decepticon working undercover to gain information and send it back to Megatron. Sideswipe had agreed at first, but that was before they exited the tunnel with De Mercurio leading them, only a few seconds ahead of the Decepticons behind them.

When the femme turned and alerted them of the incoming enemies, they all ran to cover, barely dodging stray shots. No one was actually hurt, a scuffed plate here or there, but all the Decepticons focused on was De Mercurio and Sentinel Prime, both stayed out in the wide open to cover all the Autobots retreating into cover.

Sideswipe was in the back of the group with his twin as they discussed a great many things only the twins would ever be concerned about. Sunstreaker was fast to cover, but his twin had not been so lucky. Had De Mercurio not distracted the Decepticons with Sentinel, he would've been in much worse condition.

He sustained the most damage, even though it wasn't much, it could've been much, much worse.

After that ordeal, Sideswipe held De Mercurio as a fellow Autobot and a friend, even if they hadn't actually spoken directly to each other before. Sunstreaker remained adamant about her being a Decepticon.

It was, yet again, another possibility.

She had been discovered by Orion in a Decepticon base, offering a very unbelievable story, and exposed herself to no one other then Orion. Wheeljack was beginning to wonder if she actually could remove her armor without offlining. So far all he and Ratchet had to go on was her pressure chamber and ingesting anything other then decontaminated oxygen that her suit filtered would kill her.

... That was also a solid argument. Since she claims removing her armor would kill her, could that not too be a lie? It'd be the perfect, and perhaps only, reason to keep her identity a secret.

If that was the case... all Wheeljack had to do now is hand this over to Ratchet and he'd gauge if it was enough to bring to Sentinel's attention.

Wheeljack was a mad inventor, genius and madness were two sides of the same coin, but even he wondered what the purpose of her secrecy could be. Given that all these things were true, she must have a reason to want this hidden from everyone. Decepticon? Alien scout? Were the humans friendly or hostile?

The risk... Sentinel thought that very same thing, he explained to many Autobots close to him that the risk of leaving her for the Decepticons to find if she was in fact a Neutral seeking aid, that it would weigh on his spark. At the same time showing a Neutral peace and understanding while offering help, they could earn the trust and support of another group, no matter what their size.

Benefits from helping De Mercurio ranged, none actually sound. If she wasn't as she said she was, Sentinel would... Wheeljack didn't know how he'd react. No one had ever dealt with extraterrestrial risks before; this was a first and an extreme hazard.

"Wheeljack, the acid stopped, Prime is calling for a regroup. Ratchet will be counting all of us to make sure no one has strayed; we need to get there so we do not worry him." Jazz walked up behind him, Wheeljack just gathered his thoughts and faced him, "I'm ready, let's hurry up."

The inventor mulled around if he wanted to talk to Ratchet so soon. However, keeping this all a secret would reflect badly upon him if he didn't make an attempt to reveal his studies.

Especially if they found out she wasn't cybertronian and he never spoke up.

He'd request to speak privately with Ratchet after they all regrouped, he'd just have to make sure De Mercurio didn't think it was suspicious, or his work could backfire onto him. Wheeljack wasn't sure how the mysterious femme would stop him from completing his work or informing Ratchet, but he didn't want to take his chances that she was actually a Decepticon or a hostile alien.

Arriving outside the tower they sheltered themselves in, Wheeljack and Jazz met with all the others, spotting a few with acid damage. Thankfully, De Mercurio had alerted them before the acid rain actually began to pour so they had just enough time to reach safety. Just another thing that femme did for the Autobots.

He came upon Ratchet scanning over the group, Sentinel and Prowl waiting patiently to hear that someone was missing and they needed to find before resuming their march.

Someone was _always_ missing.

Wheeljack glimpsed Orion, he was on the opposite side with Sentinel and Ratchet, and he was probably looking for De Mercurio. The two seemed to be close; still she appeared to place herself at arms distance to everyone, including Orion of course.

Soon, he felt something was amiss. Orion was beginning to become frantic, searching the crowd more thoroughly and forcefully. He pushed Autobots out of his way, paying no attention to their complaints. After a few minutes of this, Ratchet caught on, leaned to Sentinel and pointed to the mech shoving his way through the army.

On cue, Sentinel called Orion over on his comlink and the soldier stopped and returned to his leader.

Wheeljack wanted to hear this, Orion wasn't easily flustered and when he was, something had to be wrong. Shifting his way through the crowd, Wheeljack caught up with Sentinel and Orion the moment they began speaking.

"Orion, what is wrong?" Sentinel could figure it had to do with De Mercurio; Orion was always concerned about her, looking over her shoulder when she wasn't looking just to watch out for her. "Sir, I apologize for the roughness, but I cannot see De Mercurio anywhere; if she was here, she would have sought me out immediately. Every time we are separated, she looks for me first."

Prowl sighed. Without fail someone was missing again. Wheeljack growled, Blur didn't do his job like he promised he would.

Wheeljack paused; where was Blur?

"_Ratchet_!" The desperate cry lingered for only a moment and Wheeljack could feel Orion's spark fall and crash when he looked to the owner of the voice. Wheeljack was certain time slowed just for this particular moment, so that the shock and pain could sink in before anyone felt their body was even capable of taking action.

Blur moved as fast as he could, carrying the motionless body of De Mercurio to the Autobots, Orion the first who ran to him to help.

Ratchet took little time evaluating her, doing all he could to check her vitals, searching swiftly before concluding that he couldn't. "Prime, I am unable to tell if she is alive or not, I require my tools to perform a correct analysis with her suit on."

Orion looked worse for wear; he didn't know what to do. She was out, reconciles, and showing no signs of life. If she was dead, Wheeljack was sure the soldier would have a breakdown. The mech could stand only so much, loosing a new friend in such short time wasn't something many could cope with.

De Mercurio was a friend so far, Wheeljack was sure that she was actually an alien and kept her identity a secret, but her death would start a chain reaction in the Autobots and so close to a great battle, perhaps even the largest they yet held against the Decepticons.

No, her passing could not happen.

"Ah, Sentinel, if I may?" Wheeljack stood up to them and Sentinel accepted his approach. "Yes Wheeljack?"

He stepped over to De Mercurio; he wanted to see one thing before he testified against her claims. Holding her head in his hands, Wheeljack applied pressure to the back of her neck and around the joints, feeling the armor decompress and bent under his fingers. It was impossible that she was of cybertronian decent; underneath her armor was something languid and weak.

Alien. She had to be, not one cybertronian in existence could have such a bendable frame. The mesh feeling of strange ease when moving the surface of her frame underneath the weak spot in her armor was near disbelief. The mesh was rough, but whatever she was beneath it must be quite frail.

Wheeljack moved to an extremely sensitive part of a cybertronian and the single most intimate part. Every mech and femme had this, it'd be impossible without it. Moving a hand over her chest, Wheeljack pressed down, searching for any indicators that her spark laid quietly within. He did so by doing as any anatomical professional would; looking for the way to open the chest plate and reveal the spark.

Even with armor on, a cybertronian could only do so much to guard the spot without repercussions. Sometimes in battle a mech or femme would use unconventional means to protect their chest plate since their spark was so close to the surface, crushing the area would incapacitate the unfortunate soldier.

De Mercurio's armor made no sense, two notable protrusions on her chest, obvious that the armor wasn't designed to stick out but it was something underneath that it guarded and was built to shield rather then bunker down like a cybertronian would do their spark chamber. Above the protrusions the armor came together just below the neck line.

Strange as it was, there was two thin covered cables coming from either side of the lower jaw to the center of the neck line; Wheeljack assumed the design of the armor was meant to allow these cables movement as it was a weaker material guarding them.

He established that, due to the obvious replacement of cybertronian basic anatomy with a structure that Wheeljack had never seen used in another mech or even femme, was a sure sign that De Mercurio wasn't as she said.

Cybertronians couldn't survive without a spark, it was physically impossible.

"May I suggest removing her armor?" Wheeljack only had more confidence in his own claims now that he was actually able to touch her without resistance.

Sentinel kept himself claim, "Are you not yet aware that she will die if her suit is breeched?" Wheeljack nodded, "I am, Prime but I have made a theory to counter it." He could hear the Autobots audibly groan; Wheeljack had a great many theories, some didn't work quite as well as others. This was different though, this _had_ to be the truth.

"There is no time, we must do something now." Orion stopped Wheeljack come continuing, the inventor before him might have actually cracked their secret. If he did, it was Orion who needed to protect Gaia, the currently unconscious (or dead) alien femme who was limp in Blur's arms.

"Unless my theory is correct, in which case it will be up to Prime to decide if he wants to help her or not." Wheeljack wasn't about to defend De Mercurio if she was an alien or a Decepticon, it'd only put him on Sentinel's bad side. "I have reason to believe she isn't cybertronian at all, not even an advanced form of our own."

Taken off guard Sentinel crossed his arms, ready to protest the inventors' usual outlandish theories... or accept that he may be right like he had been many times before. "You have my attention; continue."

"De Mercurio mentioned another specie that exists elsewhere in the galaxy, a specie called the human race." Wheeljack presented his case, "I believe she is one of those aliens and is hiding it using the cover that if she removed her helmet or released the treated oxygen compound within and she will not die. I had asked her when she joined us in the tower to hide from the acid rain if her healing tools prevented one from leaking energon, since she stated she had to patch up some burns the acid rain caused; she didn't even know what it was, though she tried to hide her ignorance of it, she avoided answering with great distress."

Ratchet smirked, Wheeljack made an interesting point, however, it wasn't supported by facts; at least, none he heard so far.

"She has been capable of actions we are unable to. From something as basic as moving and running to having flexibility I have never personally seen any cybertronian with the ability to do. Our metal frames make it impossible for silent movement or smooth actions; De Mercurio barely makes a sound when she walks, all you can hear is her armor and she has a far different motor control then we do." Sentinel entertained the thought, but he wasn't the expert on cybertronian anatomy. Ratchet was.

"What do you think?" Sentinel turned to his CMO, who shrugged. "Anything is possible Prime; if she is an advanced form of cybertronian then we could never know how far ahead their technology is over ours. For all we know they have discovered ways to slim and flex the cybertronian body we have not thought of."

Sentinel returned to the inventor, "Your case is baseless Wheeljack. We cannot rightfully accept this as fact or even possibility; she may be telling the truth and is an advanced race of our kind that lives amongst the stars."

"Ah, I though you might say that. So I looked more into her background, everything she has told us about her and her people." Wheeljack loved any moment he could put his skills to use; this was one of those times. "So, I ask you Prime, do you remember what she said about being a Neutral?"

This was too intriguing. "Yes, she claimed to be descendant of the first cybertronians to build a home off of Cybertron." Sentinel remembered _everything_ De Mercurio told him, she was far too strange to ignore but Sentinel enjoyed her mysteriousness.

"She also said her people left when the Decepticons became too threatening." _That is an assumption._ Sentinel shook his helm, "She said they had left Cybertron after the Decepticons appeared, though she did not claim it was because of them."

"Then how come she didn't know what a Deception was?"

Orion could _feel_ the trust draining from Sentinel's spark; it was painful to watch as the inventor debunked all their hard work in a matter of minutes. Gaia was helpless, she couldn't defend herself or explain the predicament, Orion had to do it for her and... He didn't know what to do.

Sentinel had learned that their offworld visitor had come here unexpectedly, onboard a strange vessel, with a bizarre story, and an even more unbelievable reason. Scavengers and humans, technology and futuristic armor, weapons that Sentinel was very sure never existed on Cybertron. Her entire life seemed questionable, she claimed that she was a slightly different cybertronian then the rest of them; she was from space and they had to make adjustments to survive.

It bothered him most that he trusted her, he allowed her to tag along with his Autobots and she could actually be more of a threat then simply being a Decepticon; they could handle that.

But what if she was human, if she was lying to all of them this entire time; what did that entail?

And could he prove it?

"Ratchet, when we reach the next outpost, can you use the infirmary there to safely answer this?" Ratchet was little stunned Sentinel even asked, "Absolutely, I tried to tell her before it would not be impossible for me to close off a section of her suit to test and treat minor damages; if you wanted Prime, I can do it so long as I have a full setup."

"Then that is what we will do," Sentinel announced, "Upon reaching our destination, Ratchet will take De Mercurio to the infirmary and put an end to this matter."

Wheeljack nodded, the _alien_ rested in Blur's arms until a stronger mech came to take her. Ironhide lifted her, she wasn't as heavy as he anticipated; she was light and easily situated in his considerably thick arms compared to her thinner ones.

"Autobots, move out." Sentinel ordered the march to resume, though no one seemed very enthusiastic as they had been. Their newest visitor was either dead or unconscious... or dying. No one wanted this to happen.

Now that Ironhide got a better look of their guest, she did seem... strange. He never noticed it before but his radar didn't pick up a solid energy signature; it was like she wasn't even there. Or this could just be caused by her actually being dead. No one could tell, if she was cybertronian then they'd have no difficulty checking for life signs.

He wasn't sure what to think of all this, he was sure Orion must be distraught. Sentinel saw the young mech behind him, following Ironhide closely so he could watch over her in this weakened state. Sentinel couldn't wait to arrive at the outpost so they could put an end to all this controversy.

Orion was doing exactly as Sentinel observed, though for a different reason. Gaia was limp; she seemed so lifeless without her rifle in her hands, ridged as she marched along side him. Orion didn't want to entertain the idea of her death being so sudden and helpless. He wondered, if she was dead, was it painless? He hoped so; he'd hate it if she died suffering.

Yet, what disturbed him most was what would happen if she was discovered? Or _when_ she was discovered. Orion could only do so much, he was an Autobot and fought in the same war with his brothers in arms, he couldn't hurt them; at least, he didn't want to.

Seeing her so vulnerable made her unrecognizable in his mind. She was usually on guard, prepared for anything, watching the perimeter for Decepticons, her rifle in hand and ready to fire in a second flat. Gaia seemed more imposing then she actually was, she was kind, short tempered, disciplined, and intelligent.

Her past was still concealed behind a curtain, but he respected her all the same. Ignoring her faults was easy, as she barely showed them. Orion wished he could tell Sentinel that he knew who she was, it wouldn't save her now; he'd have to wait for them to build a consensus.

Gaia was exactly what he wanted to be in his future with the Autobots, if the war isn't over by then. He had the skill to be a leader, this much he knew, but he was still quite young compared to the other Autobots like Kup, Ironhide, or Prowl. In battle Orion would decide for himself the right path to take, even against his superiors.

Usually, he was commended for it; his plans rarely ever went wrong.

Right now, he wondered that if Gaia was still alive, what would she think of him when she discovers they know about her? He didn't want to loose her friendship, or place her in danger, but fighting Sentinel on the matter was a horrible idea. Disagreeing with a Prime? The only Prime currently in existence in this entire galaxy and he would stand up to him.

Orion sighed, was he malfunctioning? Because this was the only way he'd even have a chance to defend Gaia.

Not here though, not in the middle of an abandoned city on march to the Decepticon army; he'd wait until they reached their final outpost and in private, away from the prying optics of his fellows and before Ratchet had Gaia, Orion decided again that the plan his superiors gave him wouldn't be fit; he'd fight them.

He owed Gaia that much.

She hadn't saved his life, gave him a life changing perspective, logically she did nothing for him. Yet her striving to survive against all odds on an unknown planet, with aliens, fighting more forces then one. By herself and with her species' experience with aliens; that was quite the achievement.

Orion didn't know exactly what she thought about the matter at hand, stranded on a war-infested alien planet, he could guess her thoughts didn't concern him, but he wanted to know her better and for one reason or another, Gaia had refused speaking any more about the aliens humans had ran into.

He did remember that she said her people attempted peace with them, making no move to strike back... They did anyways, whatever they were; they denied the peace and attacked full force, bringing with them a wave of death that ended many human colony planets before Gaia's kind truly fought them.

Gaia said humans killed the aliens that committed mass genocide. Yet there was something she hadn't spoken of; how the humans won. Orion had pondered that originally, how could her people, dwindling in number due to the attacking force murdering humans by the thousands, end the war with them so suddenly.

It was conversation for another day, if Gaia was alive that is.

Orion rested shivering in fear, Gaia's abrupt death after all _this_ happened? After traversing Cybertron with him and the Autobots, revealing her secret to only him, trusting him, and putting her life in his hands. He didn't want to think about it, it hurt to much, but Gaia only trusted him with who she was and her safety; resting full responsibility on his shoulders.

And he was more then happy to carry her if need be, he just couldn't deal with the pressure of her life and the Autobots. There was a clashing of priorities; Orion's was to his comrades, but he felt that not helping Gaia back to her ship would reflect badly on himself. That he would no longer be able to become the Autobot he wanted to be.

Gaia... What about Gaia? She was that very thing he wanted to be and it made him stop and try to figure out what this meant. Orion always came back to the same answer; even the strong needed a friend to support them. A Prime wouldn't be a Prime if there wasn't Autobots to follow him. Primus wouldn't be so important if the Council wasn't there to spread his word.

Right now, two of his friends stood on opposite sides. Sentinel wouldn't allow her to remain with the Autobots once Ratchet revealed her to be human, while her shield falls before him, Orion would do all he could to help her, but there was so much a soldier could do.

Counting the differences between Sentinel and Gaia, Orion couldn't find an end and, though he'd never say anything about it, the contrast scared him a little. Gaia stood on a completely different world and if Sentinel ever crossed the border that separated him from her, it'd be chaos. The two couldn't stand together in battle; it just never will be.

With their people, humans and cybertronians, so far apart with their cultural barriers. Cybertronians and humans may never reach a truce if this was their first contact.

Orion had fought beside Sentinel for a long time, even saved him from some gruesome injuries had he not been there and vice versa, Sentinel never let him down. He wouldn't leave Sentinel behind in a battle, but expected it from Sentinel to leave him. Expendability. Orion was just a soldier and Sentinel was the only Prime; the Autobots _needed_ him to continue on. Without him, everything would go in vain and the Decepticons would control Cybertron.

Comparing the two was unfair to both. Thankfully though, for the first time, Orion's logic chose his answer. Sentinel had an entire army behind him, ready to die for him given the chance.

Gaia had no one except for him, Orion Pax, her only living friend.

At this moment, looking upon the lifeless form of his friend, Orion chose to be that friend; to be Gaia's crutch no matter who opposed her.

* * *

**OH LOL EVERYBODY!  
I can't believe I'm having sooooo many problems but... **It seems it is true! FF is giving me some bitching about writing, some reason using "**Bold**", "_Italic_", or "Underlined" scripting has actually _deleted_ parts of my work.

So lately, when you guys see a weird skip in the story or a... unfinished sentence, it's actually FF's document programming giving me shit about the styles I use from time to time...  
When I was checking over this manually I discovered _ten _unfinished sentences that had been deleted thanks to FF. A few times part of a sentence or paragraph would center itself. Like centering in the middle of the page so it caused a chain reaction of glitches that I had to go through and fix.

Other then that, if you see anything odd, tell me and I'll fix it right away! I can't have that kinda' stuff popping up. Doesn't say good things about my writing skill. :)

Thanks you guys, you're all AWESOMESAUSE and I look forward to hearing from you on this latest installment!


	14. The Alien

_**The Next Life**_

_By Kaimaler_.

* * *

_**CHECK THIS OUT READERS! FINALS FOR THE POLL HAVE BEGUN!**_

_**Alrighty then, the final poll contestants have arrived! In a little over one week. (**10 days**) I will be announcing the final decision.  
I received 18 votes on the opening of this poll, so! TO ALL WHO VOTED! Thank you so very much! Brownies for you all! :D I am seriously pleased I got so many votes in! :)**_

_**SO, FOR THIS NEW POLL. Any who voted before, it may be time to stick up for your decision one last time and the next story will be dedicated to all those who voted on the winning catagory!**_

_**And the Catagories are:**_

**_X-Men._**

**_Dragon Age._**

**_Mass Effect 2._**

**_TRON._**

_and_

**_Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I._**

**_So please, hurry on down to vote for the final time! A story, platform, and plot have already been chosen for any and all outcomes of this poll. That's how super excited I am about this! :D_**

**_Thank you! Now onto the review replies! :)_**

**Review Replies:**

_**Dragon260:** Yup. :) And trust me; it's about to.  
Of course, Orion may or may not be there to aid her in her time of need. O.O?  
Thanks for reviewing Dragon! So awesome of you. :D_

**_Smoltwire:_**_ Annnnnnnnd I fixed it! :)  
Thanks for understanding though, I really appreciate it. The last thing I want is new or continuing readers begin disappointed in my (obvious) illiteracy. :P_

_Sentinel has an army behind him. Literally. Gaia's alone and baring the brunt of loss, tragedy, and the emptyness following. I haven't shown much of Gaia's internal struggles, but it's about to become alive in flashing Vegas-style signs. :(_

_I don't want to spoil how it happens or very much, but I will say Orion _does_ become Optimus Prime in this story._

_Holy crap Smoltwire! I've been writing "Orion Pax" for so long, I FORGOT what his "Prime" name was. xD_

**_animelover1993:_**_ WHOA!_

_You really like this huh? :D_

_Good God, having such a fan reader is... Spectacular! Thanks! :) You're making me feel so much happier about the story._

_Ah yes, to your review._

_I felt it best to isolate Gaia from the Autobot's main force as it would be too... Mary-sue-ish? (Is that even a word o.O?)  
If people crowded around her and liked her instantly, it'd be like saying she was perfect and every one would adore her no matter what. No, no, no, no, nope, not happening. Gaia's an ALIEN to them, she'll seem different even when they don't know she's alien._

_Hence Wheeljack's case. :)_

_Kukukukuku, I know right? I was fearing people would relate her armor to over games/movies/books etc. etc. So I wanted to add... detail. A couple chapters involve this, explaining her gloves, damaged materials, oxygen pressure, and whatnot. So, while you get an image in your head... it's altered at least a bit._

_Of course, I'm an artist myself so I intent (in the near future) to publish the full picture of Gaia's armor on DeviantArt. Unfortunately, it'll take some time as I am down a scanner. :(_

_I'm glad you enjoy Gaia's character. I wanted her vulnerable to loss, but mentally strong against it due to her military training. She's trained to suffer loss but do so professionally when in a dire situation, where you and someone else's life is on the line. So, it wouldn't have made sense making her cry over dead loved ones; instead, she marches through it, carrying the weight of lives on her shoulders._

_LOYAL FAN. REALLY? I'VE NEVER HAD ONE. Actually, I've had only... one or two other I think. YOU ARE AWESOMELY AWESOMESAUSE BY FAR. You are my favorite reviewer now since you planned out your review and mentioned what you enjoyed about the story. So I know how to please you in the future! ;)_

_I thought it better if Gaia's appearance was... ambiguously mentioned. I, however, have a canon visual on her. But! I want you to have one to.  
What does Gaia look like to you?_

_To me, I visualized a Spanish-born woman, darker skin, very dark hair; almost black. She has a beauty mark on her right cheek bone, a few scars from battle. She's athletic (obviously) due to her military career. She's somewhat creative, but minimally so. She's quick on her feet after years of experience and extremely, never endingly, stubborn. To. The. Bone._

_Makes a good "Survive the HELL outta' this adventure!" attitude. :D_

_That's my Gaia. But I like to hear my reader's versions. A lot of people imagine her blond, British, etc. What's in your head? C:_

_Okay, this needs to end. I'm making this twice as long as your TOTALLY AWESOMESAUSE review. :O I'm so crazy. Gaia is SUPER squisy compared to their rock hard metal exteriors. So, the fact that skin bends like it does would naturally astound them. Especially everyone's favorite Medical Officer._

_Thanks for your input, I was really surprised when I received the alert for this. Please, more feedback! I love it to death! Also, I may have had a lot of sugar today; so tell me if I sound... insane on this reply. :D_

**_Great Diabla Assassin: _**_I KNOW. I LOVE WHEELJACK TOO. He was sooooooo cooooooool in the G1 series (and just about everything else excluding Beast Wars xP ) so I couldn't help but add him._

_Unfortunately, I added him... in a certain way... It sounds like Wheeljack to me, maybe you don't see him the same as I do though. So tell me if he seems OOC! :)_

_Well, she's revealed here; but there's not much... reply to her alien-like-ness. o.o?_

_Instead, what we have here is the lead up to the shock and awe. :D_

_ALSO. TIME MACHINE? NOOOOOOESSS THE PLOOOOOOOOOT._

_What plot? Oh, the crazy stuff that appears to have direction in this story. xP Oh wellz. My plots and plot-"twists" (if you'd be so generous to call them that) are quite... diverse to the point of suckdom. Aren't they? I'm reeeeealy trying to make everything believable. :)_

_THANKS REVIEWS FOR TEH WIN. :D_

**_crystalfeathers:  
_**_SUSPENCE? I HAVE SUSPENCE? THIS IS NEWS TO ME. :D_

_Albiet good news, but still news. Anyways. Thanks Crystal, you're always hanging around and reviewing for me. :) I reaaaaaaallllly appreciate that you take time to do so. I see I've been getting more recognition for this story as it moves along, but you were one of the firsts. I shall always respect you. C:_

**_CMO . Thorn . Dragon:  
_**_LOL, I know exactly what you feel like. You enjoy a story so much that you keep re-reading it in hopes to learn more, see more, and enjoy it more. There's nothing like reading a great story for the first time._

_So you may want to go do that. :) This is a mediocre story written by one overexcited, oversugared, crazy woman. :D_

_Anyways, enough of my insanity. Thanks for reviewing! And I hope you enjoy this latest chapter! :3_

_Also, FF kept deleting your username when I typed it out. It thought it was a link to a website. xD_

* * *

By the time Orion spotted the outpost in the distance it was too soon. He'd been so busy forming a plan to stop Ratchet and Wheeljack that time had flown by.

Sentinel didn't suspect anything between Orion and Gaia; the thought never appeared in his processor. For that, Orion was thankful though he cursed himself for feeling so relived that he wasn't going to be punished if they found out what she really was. It was a selfish thought, but he knew that it would actually give him an advantage. Where as, if Sentinel and the Autobots knew, they'd disregard any attempt he made to explain Gaia's reason for hiding herself.

As if time wasn't short enough, the Autobots were now in range of the outpost and contacted them. Prowl was announcing their presence and passing along Sentinel's orders to gear up and be prepared to march with them.

After confirming the command, the Autobots signaled their position with a light near the top of the tower, granting them safe passage.

Sentinel greeted the scouts of the outpost first, they were more then happy to see him and ready for the upcoming battle. The Autobots would join Sentinel and the outpost commander inside, resting before they continue forward into Decepticon territory.

Ironhide still had Gaia in his arms, though others offered to give him a break; he insisted she was lightweight and easy to carry by himself. The mech wasn't known for particularly _caring_ for others outside of battle, but he found himself examining her every part, trying to see what Wheeljack kept talking about earlier. He wanted to understand more.

Orion stayed close, not enough that Sentinel was concerned, yet just so he could see if she was alright. If she'd wake up.

When the scouts saw her, they questioned the Autobots marching they visited with. Every last one replied unsurely, saying she fought for the Autobots yet something ailed her now and they needed their infirmary.

Ratchet led Ironhide straight there, all the way asking for the medic's in the outpost to come to aid. Few did as there was a shortage of medic's throughout the Autobot army, so many cybertronians were needed to fight rather then heal.

Eventually, Orion watched Gaia disappear as he left sight of her, stalking straight to Sentinel.

Orion found Sentinel discussing things beyond Orion with Prowl and the outpost commander. He interrupted purposefully, ignoring proper protocol and stepped right into the middle of it.

"Prime, I need to speak with you." Sentinel, caught a little off guard, looked up from the battle plans to his soldier. "Orion," He couldn't see what this was about, as Orion remembered, he didn't suspect him of knowing Gaia's secret or even being the one who planned it. "Would this happen to have anything to do with De Mercurio?"

"Everything sir." Sentinel sighed, "I have made my decision, there is nothing to discuss."

The Autobots around Sentinel glanced between them curiously, not one speaking up. When Sentinel looked back to the plans, they followed suit. Orion, however, didn't take no for an answer.

"I am afraid there is."

Any decent leader could see when their followers were in distress, but it didn't take one to figure out Orion's meaning. This was a test of leadership, he was going to question Sentinel's decision and Orion held a strong place in the Autobot's ranks, he was respected both on the battlefield and off. Sentinel is Prime now, but denying his soldier's freewill to express their discontent would quickly make then turn on him.

Orion was no different, had Sentinel chose to ignore him, it would cause chaos in their numbers. Not something they wanted when marching towards what could very well be the largest battle in Cybertron history.

Sentinel wasn't about to let this go, he knew where he stood and perhaps he chose his spot out of ignorance about De Mercurio, but he rarely ever backed down. It was fortunate for Orion they were so alike; coercing Orion to stand down and understand Sentinel's dilemma would prove a challenge.

Even though Sentinel had convinced Decepticons their position was wrong and many switched sides while others abandoned the war altogether, Orion was the one who would be an icon to the others. Strangely enough, the young mech served as a moral goal for the lot of them. Orion was influential while Sentinel was persuasive. He'd have to watch his words with Orion and vice versa.

Sentinel rose once more from the plans he and his strategists had laid out. Facing Orion, he nodded. "Prowl, inform Ratchet to wait until I return to begin on De Mercurio." Stepping towards Orion, Sentinel gestured out the door. "Let us talk on the balcony, we will have privacy there."

Prowl was annoyed to watch his leader leave the room with Orion, they had work to do before the battle and now they'd be postponed. Again. Sighing, Prowl walked behind them until he came upon the route to the infirmary where, no doubt, Wheeljack and Ratchet were already preparing to remove the armored suit De Mercurio had never removed.

Until now. Or... maybe. Prowl growled, she could be a threat for all they knew. If she wasn't a cybertronian, what was she? This _human_ creature she had mentioned some time ago, what if she was a Decepticon? No, highly unlikely. Not impossible though, her past was still a mystery, all they knew is she lives in space, is a Captain of a large vessel, and had a bond mate who offlined in the crash.

Nothing else, not even who her creator was. That wasn't to strange though, not all cybertronians, Autobot, Decepticon, or Neutral knew their creator, just where they were _created_. She didn't even mention it; she never said anything outside her own existence and that of her offlined crew.

Prowl stopped at the infirmary door, they'd have her in the back, being prepped for testing. The door slid open and Prowl, never having been to this particular outpost, paused a moment.

The infirmary was quite large, the main room only filled with a heavy desk, chairs for damaged Autobots waiting to be repaired, and various doors, each leading to a patient's private room.

It was impressive to say the least, most of the time outpost infirmaries were small, a few cots scattered about, head's against the wall and monitors reading every electrical pulse that runs through their metal frames. Privacy, usually, was not an option.

Shrugging it off, Prowl continued until he heard the distinct sound of tools clanking together and the all too familiar arguing of the Autobots best, and only, inventor and the most talented medical officer Prowl had ever met. One was naturally more important to the other and considerably much easier to deal with.

Readying himself for the two bickering Autobots, Prowl slid open the door... and instantly regretted doing so.

He was met with Ratchet wielding a rather big micro-blade saw and Wheeljack holding up De Mercurio's arm; what he was doing with it, Prowl hadn't the slightest.

"I told you this already you boron compressor!" Ratchet roared, the micro-blade coming too close to Wheeljack's hand for comfort and as he retracted it, Ratchet held the saw up threateningly. "You cannot remove fire resistant fiber with a _welding torch _or a _plasma cutter!_ It is designed to withstand the heat and even if it did work, I already informed you De Mercurio's anatomy is not made to support electric currents! Do you even have a functioning processor?" The CMO groaned, setting the saw aside.

"At least I am thinking of something, you keep repeating the same process over and over again. If it did not work the first _five times_, it will not work the next _five times_." Ratchet spun around, the medic sincerely wanted to throw the inventor clean out the window. "It was working, the suit was beginning to unravel, the fibers are resistant to a verity of atmospheres, expect exposure to Energon!"

"I hate to interrupt your... fervid discussion," The two stopped immediately, turning to him with tools still gripped in their hands. "Sentinel orders that De Mercurio not be touched until he confirms his decision. He is currently conversing about it as we speak."

Ratchet scoffed, "Conversing? I bet Orion stood up to him. For such a young mech, Orion has a way with words; he actually might be able to convince Sentinel otherwise." Wheeljack chuckled, "For once, we agree."

* * *

It would take a fool not to see Orion's connection to De Mercurio. Sentinel saw the mech guarding her from the moment she joined the Autobots and was sure she didn't see it when he glared at other mechs for questioning her true motivations or intentions. Nor when he'd defend her while the Autobots held discussions over her, whether or not she'd an ally or a spy.

Decepticons were many things, but none of them were particularly bright. At least, not genius enough to pull this off.

Sentinel was almost certain De Mercurio wasn't a Decepticon or even associated with them, especially after what Wheeljack said; how he pointed out her lack of knowledge about, to be honest, everything on Cybertron. For over one hundred years their war raged forward, no end in sight, and she claimed it was the prediction of this tired war that eventually drove her people off Cybertron.

If that was true, she had a great many things she could offer them; she'd be a hero returned to her natural home.

Then, there was the growing chance that she was lying, she wasn't a cybertronian of any shape or form, and was in fact a human; an alien race that exists outside of their solar system. Far, far away.

When Wheeljack put the evidence in Sentinel's processor, there wasn't a single argument he could hold with the inventor that could rightfully, and solidly, counter his discoveries. Sentinel just knew so little about her and her history to give an educated debate with Wheeljack about if she was or was not telling the truth.

Disturbed, unsettled, and guilty; Sentinel had a gnawing feeling that if she was lying and he had done next to nothing to protect his soldiers. If she turned out to be an enemy, alien or not, it would be his entire fault.

She could have easily taken advantage of them at any given time.

The one thing that bothered Sentinel now was; why didn't she?

"I cannot allow this to happen, Prime." Orion started finally. They had stood on the balcony for a few minutes, the time ticking away as they both searched for the proper words. "She is a close friend to me and I owe her a great deal."

Sentinel leaned forward against the balcony railing. The aged, neglected metal whined in protest. "Yet you do not even know her like you claim to." He faced the younger mech, watching as he nodded to Sentinel. "Nor do you, Prime, and you simply decide to go against everything she told us because Wheeljack brought the matter up."

"It is my responsibility to deal with any and all threats to us Autobots; if she is a threat, then she must be dealt with immediately. Regardless of her previous actions." Orion shook his head, "That is what I am trying to tell you. You do not know if she is an actual threat or not."

He agreed partially with Orion, though De Mercurio had many questions to answer for; lies that Wheeljack had seen through long before any one else. "You are right about that Orion, I do not know for certain if she is an enemy. The chance that she is, however, and that we allow her into our ranks... I cannot continue with her walking beside us, within us, and not knowing what she will do or who her loyalty is to."

"You do not..." Orion rubbed his helm, Sentinel was right on a few levels; but it was all a misunderstanding. In any other case, Orion would stand behind him, just not with Gaia so... vulnerable. "You do not actually believe she is serving Megatron, do you?"

Sentinel shifted back to look out beyond the towers. His soldier was obviously averse about his choice on De Mercurio. "I do not know what to believe with De Mercurio."

"She is not a Decepticon." He stated bluntly, his confidence in his words was enough to sway many bots from their stubborn pedestal. Sentinel remained, tired of arguing with his soldiers, tired of the war, and far more cautious and brave then any mech. De Mercurio posed a great threat to the Autobots, if she was a spy for the Decepticons, then she could easily destroy their ranks from the inside out.

And what exactly is the coincidence of her appearing in a Decepticon base to join their march against the Decepticon army; a battle that, if fought well, could end the war or at least silence a great number of Decepticon foes.

What were the odds?

"Your dedication to your friend is worthy of respect Orion, but it is misplaced." Sentinel had to force his decision upon Orion, whether he liked it or not. "You do not know her, I do not know her, and no one knows anything about her. She speaks not of her past and not of whom she really is; we hear whispers of her time as a Captain. Prowl came to me and told me about a story she told to him. It was not pleasant, but it was a tale that took place in yet another battle on another world."

Orion didn't know that, Gaia told Prowl a story about her history? He'd have to ask her about that later... if she was even alive later, much less, not at gun point.

"The truth is, Orion, De Mercurio remains a Neutral in my processor." Sentinel did agree with Orion's side, but not enough to change his opinion. "And sometimes, even a Neutral is an enemy."

He wasn't pleased, Sentinel wasn't listening to him and Orion couldn't reveal too much. If he told Sentinel she was an alien and he knew it, how would he react? Angrily? Disappointed? Indifferent? Too many questions unanswered and secrets untold. It was killing Orion to try and find a way around the truth without denying the truth.

Sentinel had to send the order; they didn't have long at the outpost before the Decepticons began their approach into Autobot territory. This had to end soon and he wasn't budging.

"Prowl," Orion snapped his head to Sentinel, "Tell them to continue the removal of De Mercurio's suit."

This was it; Sentinel was going to allow it to happen. Orion's optics were wide in fear for his friend, she was suffering from toxins in their oxygen and she required more of it then they did; she'd be on a time limit to reach the Corsair Escion.

Orion's processor was buzzing with thoughts and concerns. Gaia was a fine femme, an alien nonetheless! She wasn't supposed to be here nor was her species built to survive in cybertronian environments. This was a taxing time for her, especially after loosing her friends and bond mate. Her only life support being destroyed was just too much to Orion.

It would kill her in more ways then simply offlining her. She spoke of hope before, the chance to see if her crew's sacrifice saved those who fled when the Scavenger's attacked. She wanted to know that their death meant something more.

"I know more about her then I have told you Sentinel," Orion sighed, his hand resting on Sentinel's shoulder. "Please believe me when I say that she is not an enemy."

Orion's conviction was always his strong suit. He was sure of this and it concerned Sentinel that he seemed to absolute; but just what hadn't Orion told him? Whatever it was, he wanted to know at least part of it.

De Mercurio stood at an advantage point over him and the Autobots; if he allowed her to continue traveling with them, without knowing the truth, it would be idiocy. Sentinel would never even imagine himself doing such a thing. It was risky, the stakes were too high and Orion knew that as well as Sentinel.

He couldn't just let her follow them and tempt fate.

"What do you know then? What could change my decision?" He didn't believe whatever Orion knew would affect him; Orion had expressed his lack of knowledge about her beforehand anyways.

"She told me this a few times, since then we have spoken little of it. From what I gather, words cannot bring it justice." Gaia had told him some about the human's previous experience with aliens; not much, but what Orion did know, he was frightened of it.

"De Mercurio told me that once, some time ago, they had discovered alien life. Aside from the humans. That they, along with the humans, offered peace to the aliens and was rewarded with war. After they attempted to sign a truce between with the specie and failed every time, they chose to fight back." Sentinel was listening intently, he heard too many things about aliens within the last few days, and this was just another mystery to him.

"The aliens had committed so many violent acts against them that they forced to take drastic action, resulting in the near extinction of the alien race attacking them." Gaia didn't add details, so neither would he. "It was mass genocide against an alien race that despised all other life forms aside from themselves. De Mercurio spoke of them briefly, saying they were monstrous and, when she met me, she was shocked to see life still on Cybertron."

"Is she cybertronian though?" Sentinel didn't push the subject away, he wasn't avoiding it, but Orion hadn't finished. "I... do not know Prime." Orion let this time go; he wasn't going to say anything about her being human just yet. It wouldn't do so well for his argument.

"What I am trying to tell you Prime, is that you may think she is a threat, but in truth; she fears you."

He already contacted Prowl and told him to let Wheeljack and Ratchet proceed, but Orion may have a point. It was weak, baseless, a lie perhaps told by an intelligent alien; it was far more a question of history and morals then simply how De Mercurio may feel about Cybertron and it's inhabitants.

Sentinel vented his frustration; a soldier fighting for an unknown threat and possibly an alien threat. What if Sentinel was right? That she was an enemy of Cybertron, an alien bent on the end of their existence.

The risk... it was too great. Not even Orion's argument could stand up to it. Neither he nor Sentinel knew the world she hailed from; their morals, virtues, and entire specie could be the exact opposite of a cybertronians.

"I am sorry Orion, this must be done. For our own sakes."

* * *

"You may proceed; Prime's orders." Prowl relayed the command. Ratchet simply groaned in relief, "It is about time, he gives the order over an hour ago and only now we can start working. That old mech needs to think things through." He chuckled, Ratchet had known Sentinel longer then nearly all other Autobots here; excluding Kup of course.

"Stop whining and get to work," Wheeljack countering, his plates lighting up a bright fluorescent blue. "From the looks of it; this suit will not come off easily."

Ratchet scoffed, "It would take you weeks, I, on the other hand, will have this suit off before the day ends."

Prowl rolled his optics, he needed to make sure neither of the two bickering mechs actually harm De Mercurio while being so distracted. Naturally though, if she was a threat as Sentinel feared... He wasn't too picky about how much damage would be done to the stranger beneath the suit.

"How do you propose we begin the removal?" Ratchet growled out and Wheeljack jumped at the question. "Blow torch." He held up a cylinder with fire coming out in a thin, powerful line.

Shaking his head, Ratchet reached for De Mercurio's helmet; it must be removed easily... unless she was so alien that normal facial features weren't present. He doubted she was alien (not only because Wheeljack thought of it first) due to her familiar approach to just about every obstacle they've faced.

In battle, she strikes back like them, in conversations she conducts herself like them, and she attempts to socialize with the Autobots rather then hide all the time. Which, as Ratchet figured, any alien intent on launching an offence against Cybertron would do. Avoid acting similar so as to separate her specie from theirs.

The way a Decepticon would to an Autobot he didn't actually _hate_, but spited the motivation behind. Disagreeing for its sake, spite, cowardly, and all those violent acts that make a cybertronian a Decepticon.

When Ratchet's hand reached to the jaw line, where most helmets would have a latch to release pressure; this didn't. It had a material all the way from the bottom of the neck to the very edges of the helmet's ledge which overlapped it. It was an air tight suit; of course it wouldn't be so simple.

"We need to do this delicately, judging by how sensitive she is to our atmosphere we must assume she had a weakness to our tools." Ratchet scolded Wheeljack while taking a sharp blade usually meant for slashing into thick cables when a fellow is unconscious.

Supposedly a very painful procedure otherwise.

"How can we _not_ harm her underneath?" Wheeljack lifted an arm, securitizing the lines of fabric, armor, and hidden wiring. "We do not know how it comes off or how to release air pressure within the suit. Either thing could hurt the body inside."

Ratchet sighed, the helmet had to go first, it would be the start to peeling back the material covering her neck then the breastplate, so on and so forth. However, since the helmet's edges were right above a sensitive area (at least, on a cybertronian) tools couldn't be applied properly, unless they were very delicate working tools. Something Ratchet didn't have many of.

So, instead of the plans that currently played out in his processor; he went the simple route. "We are going to pull it off."

Wheeljack, momentarily stunned by such a basic idea, stared at Ratchet. After weighing different tools and ideas to remove the armor, the best Ratchet came to was _pull it off_.

Shrugging, Wheeljack joined Ratchet at the head of De Mercurio's unconscious body and they took hold, feeling around the helmet, neck and shoulders for the best way to continue.

It wasn't until Ratchet had touched behind the helmet did he stop and think about the dangers of _pulling_ off the helmet was. When he touched the base of the helmet, heat was radiating from the area, into the helmet and material.

Crouching down, Ratchet took a closer look.

The metal on the helmet had melted due to extreme heat; perhaps a shortage? It was an easy assumption, the same thing happened with a cybertronian when the touch something far too hot. The metal warps and, if forced into the heat for too long, melts. Painful, but easily repaired. De Mercurio, in Ratchet's processor, wasn't dead. Connection to her processor had been shorted out by a burst of energy.

Where did the sudden increase emanate from?

"What is it?" Wheeljack stood by patiently, "De Mercurio's processor has been shorted out. She is alive if slightly damaged. From the burns on her helmet, I can only guess that it sent a shock to her system and shut down."

"You mean she must have received a spike in electricity flowing through her processor. Where could it have come from?" Wheeljack began his own investigation, tapping the helm in certain areas.

Wheeljack had barely noticed the cracks in her visor before he tapped the red protective glass.

With a loud crack, the three mechs present jumped up, all staring with wide optics as the visor cracked slowly. The pressure had become too much and it was finally giving way.

Pushing Wheeljack out of the way, Ratchet stepped forth and raised a hand over her visor, ready to help the glass shatter. Carefully, Ratchet touched the red glass and it snapped. The cracks gaining length and width before sections began falling into the helmet, following the demands of gravity.

Quickly, the two worked at pulling out more of the glass. Lo and behold, the face revealed was far different then what they expected.

Sure, Wheeljack was prepared for an alien as he mentioned before and Ratchet believed more that she was an advanced cybertronian, but Wheeljack sorely wished that was the truth.

There wasn't a doubt in their minds anymore; De Mercurio was an alien.

* * *

Gaia felt awareness returning, dull it may be, she could still discern the familiar sound of steady beeps and the feeling of cold metal beneath her. She didn't open her eyes or make attempts to move, she felt stiff and sore. Her muscles were tensed and she couldn't relax them, so she remained motionless, listening in to the sounds around her.

Metal feet clanked against the floor, the echoing of such coming from behind her head, moving around to her side and sounded a few feet away. She couldn't tell who it was by the weight of the feet, but she could use her common senses to figure it out.

She had been electrocuted by a malfunctioning Memory Orb that shorted her HUD, it was more likely that a tube from the Orb was exposed and sent false messages to her helmet, ultimately resulting in her being electrocuted and as the helmet was still on her, it went straight through her cranial. After which, she tried to stop it and instead ended up shutting down the entire system.

So, she shut down with it. Like an accidental _off _switch for her brain.

Disturbing as it sounded to her, she used this memory to tell her that the only place she could be presently is with the Autobots, upon finding her unconscious, they turned her over to their medical officer.

To which he must've removed her helmet. She only now became aware that she didn't feel the same temperature controlled environment her suit kept, nor had her HUD rebooted when she awoke.

Telling her that, if she was being cared for by the Autobot medical officer, then...

Another pair of footsteps entered, she couldn't tell between the two anymore. She hoped it was Orion, she didn't know why, if they knew he wouldn't be able to defend her.

"De Mercurio?" Word was just arriving; Ratchet began explaining the extent of her... alien-_ness_.

Orion stood by, helpless to defend his friend against Ratchet's words. He couldn't hide Gaia's obvious alien existence, but he wasn't about to fold and let them toss her aside. Still, for the moment, he had no power of words on his side.

Ratchet had taken that from him.

"It appears that, in the place of Energon, De Mercurio has this dark red liquid that services her body in the same way." Sentinel examined the alien laid bare, or more so then before, before him. "It acts as a life force; whether or not her kind sees it in the same light, I am unsure. She still has not awakened."

"There is no possible way she is or could be as she claimed so, correct?" Ratchet shook his head, "No plausible way Prime, she is an alien."

Sentinel was alarmed at himself for feeling so... unsure about her now. He was safe when she was around before, marching and fighting with them; but this felt different.

It felt like he was trying to reach in and take her spark from her body as she lay without defense. Even Orion was silent after he spent the entire time trying to sway Sentinel from his decision. Especially when Sentinel informed Orion that they had already begun and revealed De Mercurio's true person underneath the suit.

Sentinel approached with newfound caution to the alien on the medical table. She looked... odd.

Actually, that wasn't the right word to Sentinel's processor.

She looked... delicate. She looked exposed to the world, like a tight enough grip would snap her in two. It was so very strange looking upon her real body without the interference of metal, fabric, or weaponry. Sentinel felt pity for the thin, clearly suffering creature.

She was suffering, Sentinel realized. Maybe it was greatly exaggerated, but her body looked... sickly. He could simply be fooling himself; he didn't know what she looked like healthy or if this strange bluish tint to her smooth... What was that covering her body? He sighed, he hadn't a clue. Yet, he couldn't favor her simply because she appeared weak in his optics.

"Can you wake her?" Wheeljack glanced to Ratchet; both had the same dumbfounded expression. "Without hurting her? I do not know Prime, she is much more susceptible to our tools then we had thought. See..."

Ratchet held up De Mercurio's forearm. "These are the burns from the acid rain. She had remained in the rain for only a few seconds and yet not only her suit but her covering burned easily from the acids. While on your or me, the acid rain merely scratched the edges of our armor."

Sentinel nodded, "Inform me when-"

"I will wake her." Orion had done this before, all it took was a gentle touch and Gaia would be up. Ratchet may have thought her skin weak; but Orion knew better. He saw her before any of them, took the time to know her, he would bet Gaia could fight any cybertronian with bare hands and still win. Regardless of her soft skin and their solid armor.

Ignoring the questioning looks from both the inventor and the CMO, Orion stepped up to Gaia, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Time to wake, Captain."

This could very well be the last time Orion would speak to her; he wasn't going to hold himself back because _they_ disliked her alien form.

Her skin did the same as it had before; it gave into Orion's touch, bending with ease as he applied minimal pressure to her shoulder. Gently shaking her shoulder, Orion watched Gaia's eyes open to see his face looming over her.

"Hey, good lookin'." Gaia's voice was rough; Orion knew this wasn't how her vocals sounded naturally; they must've been affected by her unconscious state. In what way, he couldn't say. "Hey yourself." He smiled, his optics betraying the aching pain Orion felt as he thought about the future.

No more spending time in the _present_. Sentinel would be required, by regulation, that she be excluded from Autobot presence immediately as she could pose a great threat.

To them, maybe, to Orion? No. He knew that for a fact.

"Why do I feel..." Gaia looked down, her body almost completely bare. If not for a few undergarments and pieces of her suit still clinging to her body. "Oh, that's why." She was going to say naked... And here she was, lying on a metal cot in front of, what she could now see as, Sentinel Prime.

Swinging her legs over the edge, spotting everyone but Orion had backed away. Gaia only thing she could think of. Sporting a lopsided grin, Gaia addressed Sentinel directly.

"You certainly have a way with women."

* * *

_**I SAW TRON: LEGACYYYYYYYYY**_

_I'm afraid I maaaaaay have to do a fanfic on it. I've always loved TRON since '82 and when TRON: Legacy was announced. I swear to you dear reader, I LITERALLY DIED AND WENT TO HEAVEN THAT VERY DAY._

_Also, they had this extra ten-minute "FLYNN LIVES" special that will be released on the DVD-Extra's on the TRON: Legacy DVD case. I'M BUYING SPECIAL BLU-RAY EDITION._

_AND A LIGHT CYCLE._

_PLZ :D_


	15. Late Farewells

_**The Next Life**_

_By Kaimaler_.

* * *

_**Hey! COME ON NOW! It's a new poll deciding my next story. **__**If you don't like the picks that's just fine, I'm not talking to those people. But those who want a new X-Men/KotOR1/Tron/Dragon Age/Mass Effect 2 story need to go and vote. Since a certain story of mine is ending soon (Not saying which one! :D ) I'm going to begin on a new story; one that my readers pick for themselves!**_

_**GO ON NOW. DOESN'T TAKE LONG! :) Your votes are appreciated! You will actually decided on the next story!**_

_**NEW POLL, means you can all vote for the catagory that made it to the final round! :D**_

_**IF I HAVE LESS THEN SEVEN VOTES BY THE END OF THE WEEK**_**, ****_I will choose the story myself. Crossover or not. :)_**

**Review Replies:**

_**Teddy-wabbitz:  
**Lovely little draft it is too. :)  
Oh well, here's the sad chapter. :C_

_I'm glad you enjoyed it, I'm super excited at the speed chapters are being released. I loose interest, but I perservere and now, here is another. All polished up for you, my dearest reader! :D_

**_animelover1993:  
_**_ROFLMAO._

_When I read this, I was at Super Target buying dinner, then I whipped out my Blackberry and checked my mail. (Don't know why since I was busy at the time. o.o? ) Then I read this and started laughing in the middle of the isle.  
People were looking at me like I grew a second head. xD_

_YES AND ANOTHER ONE. :D_

_Wow. No seriously, wow. I didn't think anyone would like it _that_ much. This started out as a little test for your brain sorta' thing. I wanted to open up readers to a new experience. Since no one else published a story like this, I felt it only best to write it myself. :)  
Also, did you ever wonder why Cybertronian's are larger then humans? It makes little to no sense. I mean, they have gravity, air, natural organic metal habitat and somehow, they're massive.  
It never made any sense to me. Although, it is pretty cool. C:_

_TWICE. WAT. How come you like this so much? I'm soooooooo wonderfully, happy that you like it like you do. It's just... what the hell did I do? x)_

_FanFiction automatic system cut that out, so it looks like this. "BUT IT WAS !" And that's all. I will assume, based on the rest of your comment, that it was a compliment. So, I shall form a proper reaction._

_OH WHOA THANK !_

_I know, Light Cycles are so hardcore. I saw one on the road! *GASP* SOMEONE IN MY AREA BOUGHT THE LIMITED EDITION LIGHT CYCLE THINGY. There was only five made. Red, green, blue, yellow, and purple I think. :D I saw it, but I haven't seen it since. :(_

_Only Orion can. Since Gaia and he exchanged information when they first met, Orion has a basic understanding of the English language. He doesn't know much on it, but just enough to engage in a conversation without misinterpretation._

_Well, since they state that Gaia has "red liquid" that is to her as energon is to them, obviously he must've cut her a few times to be able to make an educated guess. He's very interested in this. :P_

_It fit since Ironhide is portrayed as the tough mech in the movies, HOWEVER, I made him the original Ironhide of G1. He's rough around the edges, but a sofie on the inside. So anyone in a state that Gaia was in would effect him; he sticks up for his friends and though he never knew Gaia well, he wasn't about to just _drop_ her. (though that would be a haliarious image! xD )_

_YES YES YES. YOU ARE SO RIGHT. Half-bit glitch would__ have been soooooo much better. WHY didn't I think of that. D: I'll have to go over it sometime. I'm just too lazy right now. :)_

_I know Linda better. Perhaps I'll try and draw her like that... Yes, she is Spanish. That is the only thing I wanted known. She's not the typical caucasian female with platnum blond hair and a perfect body running around with a gun, insane, unrealistic skills and still have a heart of gold. NO.  
She's Spanish, and whatever your imagination wants her to be. That's what I like. :)_

_Gaia is so unbelievably stubborn, she wouldn't surrender her place even if it meant death._

_I LOVE long reviews, I feel so appreciated and supported when readers tell me what they like and dislike. :D_

_WHAT. WHAT. Why? WHEN? WHERE. I WILL KIDNAP YOU AWAY FROM THEM! Awww, internship sounds boring. What are you going into?_

_O.O_

_... I actually had someone peeking through my window once. I was taking a bath while I was on vacation, it was a massive tub with the bubbles and the candles and whatnot. But when I got out and was drying off, I looked in the mirror and it was pointing to the bath which had those glass-block thingys next to it. I SAW A FACE. THE GUY WAS AS CLEAR AS COULD BE. I freaked OUT and ran out of the bathroom, took us a little while to figure what was going on, but no one ever did._

_WINDOWS._

_I FEAR THEM. D:_

_WOOT. Looking forward to your review for this lastest installment! As always, thanks for reviewing! *CYBER HUGS!*_

**_Great Diabla Assassin:  
_**_Yeah, the wrench is too cliche now. xD  
Yup, yup. Gaia's revealed, Orion's her personal guardian (sort of...) and now, in this lastest chapter, Gaia has to fend for herself._

_32? WHOA. Jeeeeez, people are really getting into this story aren't they? The last reviewer read it twice, you seem to have it printed and read it wherever you go. :D_

_I'm soooooo EXCITED. I love readers who enjoy my stories like you do! It makes me want to update quicker and quicker! :)_

_Once more, thanks for reviewing, I'm always looking for insight to how you readers see my story and what you would like to happen in it!_

**_Rockubyebaby:  
_**_I know what you mean, I read a lot of stories and I am waaay too lazy to sign in, alert/fav and review. But, when I do, it's always super long and detailed. :D_

_Heya, thanks Rockybyebaby! I always enjoy reviews! I hope this lives up to expectations! :D  
Also, since this is a rather fast paced story, I feel the need to warn you that, because this chapter is short and published so soon after chapter 14; that the next one will take a little while. It'll be long and thoughtful. It requires a sharp mind and, unfortunately, that is something I lack most of the time. xD_

_I hope you enjoy it! :)_

* * *

Gaia coughed a few good times as the numbness disappeared. Unfortunately, it was replaced by a rather painful stinging and tense muscles that felt like she couldn't shake off. As disrupting as that was, Gaia was being stared at by most of the Autobots in the outpost. After hearing about the removal of her armor, some mechs decided to see what she really looked like.

Some were so disinterested that they ignored the matter completely; but those choice few who stopped at the infirmary got the sight of their lives.

The first alien known to Cybertron now and Gaia was on display, like at an exhibit. Needless to say, sitting topless on the edge of a medical cot wasn't very comfortable.

That was something she was very grateful she hadn't explained to Orion or even wanted to. Decency, dignity, and, honestly, just plain _not _being nude in front of a bunch of aliens wasn't something a human did.

_Ever._

While the Autobots stood with their tongues tied, Ratchet and Wheeljack continued their work. Attempting to remove the armor. That didn't bode well with Gaia, who was more then awake at the moment.

They didn't see it as a problem; their bodies were always, with respect, nude. They wore armor that covered their interior functions, but still when relaxing they couldn't care less who saw beneath the heavy plated armor. It just didn't mean the same thing, whereas Gaia felt extremely out of place.

As Ratchet reached to Gaia's arm to finish removing the gauntlet still attached to her forearm and hand, she jerked it away, reeling back from the tools Ratchet wielded to get the job done.

"What are you doing?" She snapped back at him, not aware he didn't understand her anymore. Sure, she knew her helmet had been removed; her entire torso armor and clothing had been disconnected. No wonder she felt uncharacteristically cold.

Cybertron was naturally a colder planet, the planet lacked a sun to warm it, and the metal walls radiated cold air throughout the city. Yet, the Autobots, when Gaia had touched them before, proved they were a warmer specie.

It was a useful contrast, one that was base survival skills.

"No one knows what you are saying Gaia." She turned to see Orion beside her, walking around the cot to her side. "You have a different language then us, one they have never heard."

She blinked, that's right. She exchanged information with Orion in order to translate his language into hers so they could better understand one another. Some words didn't exist in her tongue so it only made for a more learning experience. With her HUD and translator removed, she hadn't a way of communing with Sentinel and the others.

However, Orion was speaking basic English. He spoke it like a second language, without a hitch or pause.

"How are you speaking English then?" She forgot, what the _hell_ happened? She downloaded his language into her system, but did Orion do the same when she gave him her information?

He smiled, "We both shared our languages through your..." Orion hadn't a clue how her suit worked, he didn't know a single thing about how her translator worked or what the information chip she had given him to understand her was even called. "You gave me information about you, as Captain, and I installed your language into my memory banks. This is how I can translate words from your language that do not exist in mine."

Of course. All those times when speaking with Orion while her translator would tell her 'Autobot' was 'automatic' and 'Decepticon' was 'deception', she had said just as many, if not more, words that couldn't have meant anything in cybertronian.

"Like '_marriage_'?" He nodded, "Exactly."

That was simple; it was just something she had forgotten she'd done with him. Yet another pointer that she was beginning to get too old for running around the galaxy with a gun on her hip and a cannon behind her.

Huffing, Gaia looked around the room for her clothing. "Orion, where's my stuff?" He turned around, walking to the counter behind the cot and picked up two delicate pieces of undergarments.

While her greaves were still on, as Ratchet and Wheeljack hadn't had time to ruin them, all she needed was a shirt of some form. Thankfully, it was regulation to wear some kind of shirt beneath the armor. It caused problems sometimes, itchiness and the shirt would twist, but all in all, Gaia was so happy to see Orion handing her bra and white tank top.

"Thanks." She nodded his way and pulled the sports bra over her head and back to where it belonged. Hiding that which they shouldn't have seen. Alas, when trying to pull her tank top on, she noticed that they had not pulled it off of her the same way.

Torn down the front, it made for a very unsightly and very useless shirt. Growling, she put in on like a vest, shaking her head disapprovingly. "Why'd they have to tear my shirt up? It comes right off."

She heard Orion address Ratchet, earning an accusing point to Wheeljack who shook his head, replying hastily in their own language. One Gaia could never learn, the strange metallic sounds resembled spoken binary.

Or something equally impossible to speak for a human.

"Wheeljack says they could not see how it came off, but discovered it tore easily." Groaning, Gaia picked at loose strings. "I can see that. Why not the bra too though? It must've been much harder to get off."

Orion spoke to Wheeljack, who now pointed back to Ratchet. The CMO looked smug as he answered Orion and Gaia could guess from the look on Orion's face, he was grateful.

"The... _bra_, as you called it, was far too close to your skin. Therefore they did not feel comfortable with tearing it open like your... _shirt. _Instead, they took it slower and pulled it off." Orion was pleased he got an answer so clearly; he suspected Sentinel was standing by to see how she reacts to them all while she'd vulnerable. Any aggressive act could come across far worse.

On the bright side, Orion smirked inwardly; he learned a few new alien words and now knew what to call the flimsy material she always wore under her suit.

It was stunning when Sentinel announced himself; his voice was much more intimidating now that Gaia heard his voice in his language instead of hers. A great difference between the two. He was trying to talk to her, this much she knew, but was stopped when Orion interrupted.

Obviously, Orion must've been explaining that she couldn't understand him and he'd have to allow Orion to act as a translator if he wanted to converse with her. And he did.

Orion didn't translate Sentinel just yet; instead he stopped the larger mech and decided to have another try.

"Sentinel, we could use her for our battle with the Decepticons." He pushed, trying to find a reason to keep her around. To convince Sentinel not that she wasn't a threat, but that she could serve a purpose with them. "She is a Captain, a leader just as you are. She could aid us and help us plan for the battle."

"That would mean something Orion if I only knew what her intention was on Cybertron." Sentinel dismissed Orion's new argument; he was determined but Sentinel had to do what was best for his soldier's safety and morale.

"She crashed here; she never had the intention of landing here." Orion kept prodding on the subject and Sentinel was having none of it.

"How do you know that?" He demanded, "You do not know who she actually is, you only know that she is alien and stranded. She would do anything to return to her home; including desert us."

"Gaia would never!" Orion growled, that was a direct insult thrown at his friend. Sentinel may not be interested, but the other Autobots would murmur about this for the next few days, it would haunt Sentinel and right now, that seemed like the best way to go. If Sentinel wanted to exile her to wander alone, Orion couldn't change that; but he could make Sentinel regret it.

"You do _not_ know that." His voice boomed, stunning Gaia who sat silently on the medical cot.

It was obviously a heated conversation, Gaia was thankful she wasn't a part of it... She winced, it was probably about her.

"He suspects you of lying to him," Orion summarized, "He is asking your real designation, shall I tell him?" Gaia shrugged, "Doesn't matter, go ahead."

Orion replied to Sentinel with her name and title, emphasizing on her position as Captain and her name actually being De Mercurio, only with a first name; Gaia. Sentinel accepted this without a problem, he had begun to believe she wasn't a Captain after all, but she stuck to her tale, not revealing any more then what was necessary.

It wasn't enough to Sentinel now that he knew she was an alien.

"Gaia," Orion turned her attention from Sentinel, "I can tell them I knew you were an alien all along, perhaps with that knowledge they will take my words into consideration more."

She rubbed the back of her neck, "You haven't told them yet?" He shook his head no, "Then don't." She shrugged it off, the chance that they'd change their minds simply because of Orion this was highly unlikely. And bound to get Orion into more trouble then it's worth.

"What do you mean? It is a possibility." All the other Autobots watched as Orion spoke in a language not of their world to an alien; seemingly her language. No one had any clue what they spoke of however, so they stood and waited to see the outcome. "If we do not take this chance, Sentinel will be forced to exile you from us all. You would not be allowed to travel with us or..." He sighed, "You will be alone and you said yourself you could only survive so long without the same oxygen levels as your kind require. You will die."

Gaia nodded, depressing, but true. She couldn't hide herself anymore; no excuse would close this case. Sentinel was seeing an alien for the first time in their entire history; no wonder they'd remove her from the Autobots. It just wouldn't be safe anymore. Sentinel would be uneasy with her around; the other Autobots would exclude her anyways.

Orion would be the only mech willing to stand beside her and he was only a soldier. Destined to fight on a battlefield for his belief and maybe, to die there.

Gaia would be a threat any way she looked at it. To Sentinel she could be an enemy, but now without her pressurized oxygen; she'll be slowing down, tiring out. Eventually, she'll fall unconscious and, if she'd not recued in time, she would die. Suffocation didn't sound like a good way to go.

She had barely enough time to reach the Corsair; it wasn't far and if she used her time wisely, she could make it. Survive this encounter and this planet to escape back to Earth.

"I'm going down anyways Orion, no need for you to go down with me." Orion stared; she lifted herself off the medical cot, aware of the light thumping in her head. Headaches only got worse with more movement.

Orion, ignoring the others, tried his best to ensure she was fine standing by herself after her near fatal accident. "Tell them that if Sentinel wishes me to leave. I will do so; without disturbing them."

He stood between Sentinel and Gaia, trying to save his friend. "No Gaia, if you leave then-" Gaia stopped him, his concern was touching; but she was caught, Sentinel was going to send her away from the Autobots, no point in putting Orion on the chopping block. "Don't worry Orion; I can take care of myself. Just get him to tell me where my ship is and I'll go."

What Orion wouldn't do to fix all this. He and Gaia stared at each other, her eyes stern. She made her choice, but Orion wasn't sure if he had just yet. He wanted to save Gaia, stop Sentinel from making a mistake, and then continue their march. It was impossible though, her alien identity couldn't just be passed over.

Sentinel would deal with it like a leader should.

Orion caved in, "Fine then." He felt like someone had a hand gripped around his spark; it was painful to see that Gaia didn't want this fate but couldn't see a way around it, no loopholes, no more lies. What hurt worse was how helpless Orion felt against it. "I will do as you ask." Gaia nodded her thanks; she didn't even trust her own voice at this point.

If only Sentinel knew what he did, maybe he'd stop and reconsider.

It was such a long shot, the possibility of Sentinel suddenly deciding that she wasn't a threat was so low that Gaia didn't even want to try. Orion did, to an extent, but he too knew what the consequences were for both him and Gaia.

It wasn't looking good.

Orion faced Sentinel, doing all he could to remain stoic as he told Sentinel her agreement. "She says she will leave without disturbing anyone." He could feel Gaia's eyes on his back, she didn't know what he was saying, but she hoped he was doing what she wanted him to. "And understands your decision, on one condition."

Sentinel's interest was peaked; she wasn't in a position to bargain. "What is it?" He expected something like armaments, supplies, yet her request was simple.

"She wants to know where her ship is and how to get to it. After that, she will depart."

He could do that.

* * *

Gaia stood with the Autobots in the war room of the outpost, the giant map displayed the entire area, it went far beyond the towers she'd seen so far on her journey.

The map was actually the metal table melded to fit the area. The streets, outposts, even Iacon had been welded and burned into place on the table top. It was all one giant piece of metal.

She grinned upon spotting it. The map reminded her so much of the ones back home. The layout would be etched into metal, glass, or fiber glass and the computers would scan it and display a 3D replica so they could navigate through buildings and pathways much easier.

Of course, this was simply a table and lacked the technological additions that served humans today.

The Corsair crash site had been marked by a small token on the table. It was a few miles from the outpost, but its exact location was guesstimated.

Orion was her translator, when Prowl gave her directions.

If it wasn't obvious that Prowl was on alert every second, just waiting for her to attack; then Orion would jump out the window. The strategist was glancing her way from the map every few seconds, hand ready to take hold of his blaster.

Naturally, Gaia was aware of this too. Cybertronians had direct vision; close to tunnel vision. They could scan the area one section at a time, but Gaia's peripheral vision allowed her to keep staring at the map while watching his hand, to make sure he didn't have too much of a trigger finger.

Orion didn't know how many things humans had better or worse then a cybertronian, but from her emotionless reaction to Prowl's constant weariness, Orion could guess that patience and a quicker draw then Prowl had to be one of them.

The tension in the room was bad enough without the others there; putting Gaia on edge.

When Prowl spoke again, Orion almost missed it. He didn't want anything more to happen to Gaia to put her in a more dangerous position.

"After leaving the outpost, you need to go down the left street and follow it until you reach the forth down ramp to the lower levels." Orion blinked, quickly translating it for Gaia.

She nodded, "Lower levels?" She frowned; they hadn't ever been on the lower levels before, was this precautionary or necessary? "Yes, the Corsair Escion was spotted by this very outpost collapsing the streets; it is currently located beneath the streets and some towers."

Gaia sighed, "Great, let me guess." Orion smirked; she'd figured it out already. "I'm going to have to navigate my way through half a dozen roads just to reach the Corsair."

Orion shrugged, "That is about right. However, you will also need to take a few towers." Gaia rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh, "Oh how fantastic." He chuckled at her reaction, the predicable venture through the under city would be dangerous and difficult.

Nothing she wasn't used to in other words.

Prowl gained their attention by calling for Orion and pointed to a rather short looking tower and explained it's role in her trip to the Corsair. "He says you will have to enter that tower to reach the lower city. It is one of the tallest towers so it will be able to take you down safer then the crumbling streets."

"Tallest? It looks tiny." She deadpanned, "Perhaps, but the majority of it hides underneath the upper levels."

"Ah, like an iceberg." She mumbled and Orion stood blankly for a moment until Prowl continued.

"After descending the tower, you will come to a series of old passages. There is a street that will take you straight to where the collapsed streets are. All you have to do then is follow the damage and you should be able to reach your ship by tomorrow." _Great, I don't have much time anyways. _Gaia thought grimly. She was on a time limit now that her suit was nonfunctional.

The only things she'd do alone was travel to the Corsair's crash site and find a way to preserve herself until help arrived.

Unfortunately, the Corsair was more then likely skin and bones now, no longer the thick bracing armor it once had. Finding a place for higher oxygen levels would be difficult.

"Thanks for help." She winked at him after Orion translated, "I best get going now." She left the war room, the Autobots nearby in tow.

It wasn't until she reached the main room did she stop and stare at the large door before her. Few Autobots had actually heard about her situation, only that she'd been revealed.

Breaking the news was never easy, no matter what way you look at it.

Orion stood right behind her, shoulder to shoulder and held her helmet in his hands; he worried for her. Without her armor or her helmet, she was much more vulnerable to the alien world around her. As hard as it was to see that Cybertron was actually _alien_ to her, Orion did all he could to understand her, to relate to her.

The circumstance wasn't as hard to feel. Orion could imagine himself on an alien planet, standing alone and stranded for the other worldly creatures to see. Even hunt.

It drew fear in the young mech, causing him to stare down at her helmet; wondering what fear she felt when she landed on Cybertron.

Taking a deep breath, Gaia stepped forward and the doors swung open. She was on display, Orion watched as she held her resolve, and no one could defend her against the shocked faces and wide optic stares.

Kup was, naturally, the first to overcome initial shock and awe. When he approached Gaia, Orion stepped a bit closer to her. He didn't believe Kup would do anything, the mech was too... knowledgeable to judge based on specie.

"Good luck." He offered his hand. Gaia glanced to Orion at her side and gingerly took his hand, with a strong shake. Kup saluted and let her be. The Autobots follow suit, some at least.

Standing up as she passed them by, each one saluting her leave.

She would be alone, isolated on a hostile planet. Though the Autobots had no idea how she'd fair against Cybertron's atmosphere and its other, angrier inhabitants; they could still sympathize with the lonesome alien sent away from their ranks.

Yet, even though Gaia wanted to blame Sentinel, to be angry with the mech. She knew she couldn't. When they first met, Gaia stated that she knew what it was like being the leader for an entire crew (or army in Sentinel's case) and that as the leader, the one who decides all of their futures; she knew that doing what was best for your people was far more important then anything else.

No matter how hard it was and Sentinel didn't let her go so easily.

He stood away from her, on the outside of the Autobots bidding her a silent farewell and safe travels. There was nothing he could say, nothing he could do in order to consult her.

Sentinel didn't believe she was an enemy of the Autobots, but he knew from experience just because you feel strongly about something, it doesn't make it true.

This was for their own safety, as Gaia had lied, told him she was something she wasn't. Of course, if he had known from the beginning, he wouldn't have ever let her join them.

Not a chance in the world.

Gaia left the main room without a word, she smiled to those who gave her a send off yet never spoke up. Instead, she did as she promised. She left the outpost without disturbing them.

Sentinel was departing the outpost with the Autobots anyhow and it was the best time to get the Autobot's processors off of Gaia.

She vaguely remembered how much she hated the stairs from the last outpost; all of them seemed to be on the top level of towers. It served as a better vantage point, but it didn't do much for defense if an opposing force discovered them.

All these little thoughts on battle, they didn't matter anymore.

When they reached street level, they passed through the massive entrance doors and out to the Autobots standing guard.

They hadn't heard of what was happening inside and as Gaia stood bare to them, her specie now open to their optics. It was a complete standstill, Sentinel allowed a short time to pass before he interrupted their surprised attention on Gaia.

"Autobots, it is time to move out." The Autobots broke sight of Gaia and returned to Sentinel, all following him as he began to lead their march.

Just as the Autobots walked passed Gaia, Orion left the crowd and ignored the other's questioning looks. He stood in front of Gaia and made no move to speak.

He didn't trust his own voice, he felt wounded and feared for her greatly. While she wandered alone, they'd fight a battle to mark this war. She'd be suffering and by the end of this all, he wondered if she'd yet still live. And doubted it.

Gaia only smiled, she knew the mech had a good heart, or spark as they called it, and didn't want him feeling guilty about her departure. It would put him in grave danger when they fought the Decepticons.

He held her helmet up to her, "I do not believe it works anymore." She took the broken helmet from him. The visor was shattered, wires clipped, some were burned, and some had melted. It was ruined, far beyond repair.

"It's okay Orion; it was only a matter of time before they found out." She rested her hands on his shoulders, barely noticing the growing number of Autobots who stopped to watch this emotional bond be torn.

The hurt face on Orion was enough to make Gaia's guard drop, he looked so... defeated.

"That is not what I am sorry for." His face melted her heart; he cared so much about a stranger. Too much. "I'm not mad at you, I don't feel betrayed. Don't be sorry, you did the best you could with little and I'd say, since Sentinel did just kick me out the window; that you did pretty damn good."

"It was my responsibility to ensure your safety within the Autobots and I failed, how does that not bother you?" Orion didn't want to let go, every second spent they got closer to the end.

"It was never your job to defend me," She smiled sadly, "I can very well take of myself, you don't have to babysit me, at least, not anymore. I'll be fine; it's you I'm concerned about."

Orion tilted his head slightly, "Me?"

"You're marching off to war, a battle that may or may not kill you." Even Sentinel could see the two sharing their last moments together; the other Autobots strived to give them space, standing away and out of sight of the two. It was heartbreaking to watch as two great friends separated; never to speak again. "I want you the best that you can be, fight for what you believe in and if need be, die for it. Never surrender, never give up hope. No matter what corner you find yourself backed in, there is always a way out."

He mulled on that a moment, the others would be wondering where he is. He had to leave now, but he wouldn't soon forget her or her words. Orion replied in kind, throwing his arms around Gaia's waist and hugging her closely.

A little shocked by the sudden grip, with his armor edges poking her; she still smiled through the discomfort and hugged him back. "I'll miss you Orion." He only pulled her tighter to him, "I will miss you as well Gaia."

When the two parted, Gaia felt her eyes sting with falling tears. She wanted to stay and help him through this trying time; but there wasn't anything she could do. For now, they both stepped back from each other and bid their goodbyes.

Gaia could only say she looked back once and met Orion's optics as he turned to watch her leave.

Their hearts cried out, but nothing happened and finally, when both were out of sight from each other. They shared a familiar pain at the loss of a friend.

She followed Prowl's directions, to the Corsair; to home.

* * *

_**WARNING! I KNOW YOU NOTICED THIS!**_

_**This is a considerably shorter chapter, simply because I wanted to give you readers something before I try and take on the next chapter.**_

_**It's long, deep, and has a lot of... stuff to it. I hope you'll cry, I want you to be heartbroken as Gaia takes on a desolate planet alone. With no Orion and no Autobots.**_

_**Also, Orion will have a part. A part away from Gaia and while they are separated, we'll see how far their friendship bond will stretch. :)**_


	16. Scavengers, Part II

_**The Next Life**_

_By Kaimaler_.

* * *

**_Now I have to issue a little warning on this chapter... _**_While this isn't a warning for violence (as there is none in this chapter really) or language (none again) this is a warning about the quality of this chapter._

_I received a lot of PM's about this chapter, mostly all asking when this chapter would be published. I know I warned you all before that this chapter would take a considerable amount of time to write as it was a very, very challenging story-continuity topic for me, personally. I'm not very good with keeping thoughts and actions interesting to you readers; I've never been very talented at it._

_So, to satisfy my readers, I cut out the sections where these unfinished, challenging topics come forth and only included that which had been finished._

_I have decided, in order to publish faster for this story, that "_The Next Life_" will now become a multi-story series._

**_THAT IS RIGHT READERS! THE NEXT LIFE WON'T END HERE! :D_**

_After "_The Next Life_" is completed. (SOON!) I will be publishing the future of our fun little universe I've invented here. I've gotten such FANTASTIC feedback for this (originally!) PROTOTYPE story, that I've chosen to continue this little universe beyond "_The Next Life._"_

_You will receive TWO more parts of this series. Currently unnamed but planned out, I cannot release ANY information on it as it will spoil the ending of this story._

_But I can give you a hint!_

_"Humanity won't hide in the dark for long..."_

**:D**

_**Also! I WANT YOU, ALL OF YOU to catch up with me on my other accounts. (NOT OF FF!)**_

_**On Facebook: **Caitlyn Miller. _Send a friend request and I'll accept! :D

_**On Twitter: **Kaimaler. _For updates on my stories and previews for upcoming chapters!

_**On Meebo: **PM me for email addresses and contact information for Meebo!_

**_On Skype:_**_ . _Just send a friend request and we can have a nice little chat! I'd love to hang out and talk with my wonderful readers!

**Catch up with me! I look forward to seeing you on any of these sites! I'll keep an eye out for you!  
Links to my accounts on Facebook and Twitter are on my USER ACCOUNT PAGE here on FanFiction! Right at the top beside my avatar, you can't miss them! **

**Review Replies:**

_**Great Diabla Assassin:  
**I wish I made this chapter more "heartbreaking"! I just realized that, after many PM's from bothered readers, that I was taking too long. So I hope the little emotions I display in this chapter will be enough for now!_

_I'm SOOOOOO happy you like this story so much. If you remember the first few chapters, I told all readers that this story was strictly a prototype story; one that I wanted to test and gauge how much Transformers fans enjoyed it. As you can see with 15(now 16!) chapters I already have 51 reviews! I want more, of course, but that's just me being a greedy author! :D_

_That's an average of 4 to 6 reviews per chapter! Chapter 15 had 7 reviews! A record for this story! :D_

**_animelover1993:  
_**_I'm afraid I just did. :'(  
Don't worry though, I hurt just as much when I decided to separate them._

_Seriously? I drew tears from a reader? I must be quite awesome now! I've always wanted to elicit a physical emotional responce from a reader! TEARS WILL DO! :D_

_That's what I do when I read a story I really love; read it, re-read it, review it... and probably read it two to three more times. I'm glad you like this story so much; devoted, loving readers like you keep me alive and running! :)_

_Don't get me wrong, I love that Cybertronians are huge, but I notice NO AUTHOR EVER has given humans the credit they duely deserve. Born as a hunter/gatherer race, we managed to invent fantastical things through our natural survival instincts and instinctual social order. It's an amazing thing when you think about it. We have beautiful images of the very fringes of space (though the pictures do no justice) without any form of natural aid.  
__We created this modern era even when all else was against us! Hell, WE created the idea of Cybertronians. What is there NOT to love about humanity? :D_

_LOL, .  
And yes, Fanfiction's censoring service is a cockbite. xD  
(I don't get censored because this is a story! :D )_

_YUP. I also just saw Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides AND X-Men: First Class. (which ((XMen:FirstClass)) was better then ALL the other X-men/Wolverine movies combined as it stuck to comic continuity!)_

_I thought it more logical that while Ratchet is a very talented, experienced CMO; he still doesn't know a SINGLE THING about humans or human anatomy. So he'd (realistically) make what we as the humans would deem medical mistakes. Though, he realized his lack of knowledge and worked accordingly. So while he did make a few incisions, he is wise enough to assume that when penetrating the layer of natural armor (flesh to us) was a bad thing._

_Ironhide was ALWAYS explained in the Generation 1 universe (and beyond in fact!) to be a tough mech, but one that would do anything needed to comfort a friend in pain, physical or emotional. So long as it is in private. :)_

_I know, that is why I mentioned a person that had ACUTALLY watched me through a window. In the bath tub. WET. LOL_

_That's actually badass. I have a neighbor that is a horse owner, Julie Williams, and she accepted to teach me the basics and, later, the more difficult necessities of caring and keeping of a horse.  
She owns a horse named JT, Just Trouble, who is a Palamino Quarter-horse. She's named that because, bought at the age of three, the first thing she did when she had been brought to her new home and gallop into the open field when her owners were away and jumped the fence.  
JT ended up greeting the neighbors as the "new horse in town, ya' see?" xD_

_YAY EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTERS...  
I've never been on a rollercoaster before... Oh well! :D_

_This isn't as "emotional" as I wanted, since that was taking too long, but oh well. It's kinda' sort as I had to edit out the unfinished emotional parts since I needed to hurry up with this chapter. :)_

**_Smoltwire:_**_  
As a leader in the middle of a planet/specie-crippling war, it is, unfortunately, the responcible action to take for Sentinel Prime.  
Autobots have enough on their hands, the last thing they need is a new alien race cropping up and bothering them. If they gained a new enemy, the Autobots wouldn't stand a chance.  
Poor biomechanical aliens; THEY ONLY WANT LOOOOVVEEEEE. :)_

**_.Dragon:  
_**_I'm sooooooooo sooooooooo soooooooo terribly sorry this took so long. I wanted it to be extremely emotionally challenging, but that is very difficult for me. So I'm afraid I had to edit the unfinished sections out and publish this somewhat-short chapter instead. At least it forces the story to move on..._

_Anyways, I do LOVE hyper reviews from readers; it tells me that you all care about the story, its characters, and how pleased I am with my feedback! So keep reviewing, even if it's just "HOLAY SHITE WHAT JUST HAPPENED? Update soon please!" Because at least I know you're entertained by what I am writing!_

_And thank you so much! I've been struggling to upgrade my writing skills, but so far I've done all I can. I just need to keep studying and hope I can improve upon myself. :)_

**_Patcher:_**_  
OH THANK YOU FOR NOTICING! :D  
Actually, no one else has really taken that into perspective. I wanted to focus on the beauty of humanity, not just the bad side that every other FanFiction author has done, official comic book writers for Transformers, AND the movies. They all tell humans as all greedy, evil folk who want guns, sex, money, and violence.  
When, in truth, most people on the entire planet is just like you or me. Normal people just living today, working within the law and our governments. :)  
I'm glad you enjoy my story so much and have taken this new look on humanity (in the Transformers universe) into account._

**_Rockybyebaby:  
_**_I'm happy I have made you happy; I hope you continue enjoying my story. :)_

**_Horser01:_**_  
I KNOW I'M SORRY. I know it was short and, while this chapter was intended to be MUCH longer; it was taking WAAAYYYYYY too long. No one wanted to continue waiting and I don't blame them. I said I'd try to finish it as soon as I could and I rather failed on that, so instead, I am removing the unfinished sections of this story and giving you all a new, albiet somewhat short, chapter. :)_

_I believe I just answered that by informing ALL readers that there will now be a continued series featuring this universe alone._

_I need to come up with a name for this universe I've invented too; so that I have something to properly refer to other then just "this fictional TF universe I made up."_

_OH HELL YES. PLEASE. DO SO! I would appreciate credit too, if you don't mind. :)_

_Example:_

_© 2010-2011 - Custom Transformers Universe belongs to Kaimaler.  
Kaimaler - Transformers Fanfiction: "The Next Life."_

_If that's too much, don't worry about it, but I would like to be mentioned; to inform those that the created fanmade-universe was created by me. Since it is a giant universe that I intend to continue with the human and Cybertronian races colliding some time._

_Thanks for being an avid reader Horser, I would like to know about this story you want to publish. I want to read it! I've never had a reader who enjoyed a universe I created so much that they based a story of their own after mine.  
I would be greatly honored if you do this! If you wish any cameo's made by my characters in "The Next Life" I'd be more then happy to lend them. :)_

* * *

It had been four hours since Orion and Gaia parted ways, he followed the Autobots to a battle that could mean his death. Gaia marched alone and cold to her crashed ship.

She had only a few days, by the end of this day, however, Orion would be meeting the Decepticon army and charging them full force.

Imagining Orion in battle, one far worse than the scouting parties they had come across before, was difficult. He would do all he could, he'd fight like an animal; he wouldn't surrender. That just wasn't who he was. Gaia was amused at how his stubbornness reminded her of herself and how many times the crew would either shake their heads in defeat of an argument they were probably right about, or thank her as they left yet another dangerous mission behind; completed and everyone alive.

She sincerely hoped the Autobots would win. Their defeat meant the death of their world, their system of things. If they fell, so did Cybertron and when this planet was conquered, as the Autobots had told Gaia, they had the means and technology to leave the planet, but had enough to deal with on Cybertron.

If the Decepticons left Cybertron and no Autobots were left, then it would be the human's duty to end their tyrannical reign. Of course, the human empire that now controlled the majority of the galaxy would dominate their comparatively miniscule numbers.

Still, the loss of the Autobots would be a wound to the entire galaxy. A people that built themselves on moral goods rather than material gains.

Gaia would miss Orion, she'd ache just to see his excited face every time he learned something new about humans and the outside galaxy surrounding his home planet.

Trekking the dirty highways, the abandoned streets, and navigating through the deep ruins of Cybertron was a great task. It was difficult to know when something was too weak to hold your weight or actually crumbling when one approached it.

She didn't want to keep thinking about Orion and the Autobots, Sentinel was right. She'd do the same to some random stranger. If she had believed Orion an alien instead of an old, lost A.I. wandering this dying planet; she'd have killed him instantly. No questions asked.

Aliens did frighten her to an extent. After seeing what the alien species that struck against humanity did, she wasn't sure if she could ever believe alien life held more than an animalistic desire to be the dominant specie.

Then Orion showed up and taught her beyond that. It was refreshing, calming, his presence always gave her a sense of security. Orion would serve her memory as proof that aliens could be different then what humans had seen in the past. Now, she would give an alien a chance, where in the past, she'd kill one if they didn't leave the area immediately.

There were few aliens in this galaxy, each one was different then the last.

How many species did humanity whip due to previous encounters? How many suffered because one specie showed themselves enemies of the dominant alien in this galaxy?

Gaia felt like cowering in the corner, it was true. Horribly true. Mankind's experience with aliens was limited to the vicious creature that attacked them. What if the other species they met in their expansion had the same fate? What if humans became the very creature they hated so much?

With a tired sigh, Gaia held her rifle close. No more depressing thoughts, she couldn't deal with them right now. It seemed that no matter what she did, there wasn't a thing to be proud of or at minimum, happy about.

Gaia cautiously slid down a crumbled street, she would be nearing the tower here shortly. Prowl said by the end of the day, Gaia should be touching down near the Corsair's crash site. She supposed he calculated the time it would take to rest, but she didn't have the ability to do so.

She set herself at a quick pace, yet didn't risk running. She'd require even more oxygen and she'd pass out of lack of air much quicker than if she was just patient, held her breath, and slowly took deep, calm breaths of air. It relaxed her nerves and set a steady heartbeat. As long as she stayed out of strenuous activity, she'd make it to the Corsair without feeling light headed.

This pressure on her shoulders made that much more difficult.

It had been sometime and only now had Gaia caught onto a strange occurrence.

Stopping, Gaia heard the sound of rubble falling and it stopped soon after her. _Strange_. She thought, she was on a solid slab of metal right now, there wasn't a piece of loose metal anywhere around her.

So, she started again, walking slower this time and listened for other sounds.

After a little while, she heard the sound of metal scuffing metal. It was short, almost unnoticeable.

But it was there.

Arming her rifle, Gaia took all necessary precautions. Orion mentioned they were in Decepticon territory; perhaps a Decepticon found her. This wasn't good, what were the odds that one of the Autobot's enemies would find her _after_ she left their company and while she's barely armored?

Slightly worried, she continued slowly, barely making a sound as she trained her ear to the towers and streets beside her. She knew someone was watching, now that she became more aware, she could feel eyes on her back.

If the suddenly silence wasn't enough to drive Gaia to a sense of fear she rarely ever found herself in; then what happened when she turned around was even worse.

There, clad in belts, leather, metal makeshift armor, and carrying an old double-barrel shotgun stood a man and his crew, a little more than fifteen feet away.

_Scavengers!_

Markings and symbols, the rough quality of the armor and weapons he carried were obvious indicators of his position as a Scavenger; he wasn't a clan leader, but he was an experienced fighter.

Aiming her rifle to the Scavenger's, Gaia calmed her nerves; pointing the sights straight at the lead Scavenger.

She contemplated the possibility of Scavenger's landing on Cybertron for the Corsair Escion after they shot it down and concluded that it would be exactly what they did.

Why didn't she think about them being around the crash site of the Corsair? She found herself cursing her own idiocy as she had done multiple times when she was with the Autobots.

"Hold there, missy." The leader paused, the rest stopped behind him. Hold his hands up in defense, he smiled darkly to Gaia. "Now what's a gal like you doin' in a place like _this_?" He gestured to the crumbling city around them.

Remaining silent, Gaia was trained not to answer to criminals and thieves like the Scavengers; they thrived off the dead more than they would anywhere else. They lacked humanity, something humans of Earth and its sister planets strived to keep in sight and succeeded most times.

"Silent treatment, eh?" He shook his head, taking a step closer. "Well, we have ways of makin' you talk." He stated matter-of-factly.

With that, the sounds of weapons being cocked and ready to go, she took in her odds.

Gaia glanced to the flanking Scavengers; she was outnumbered. There was five of them, telling Gaia these Scavengers were not much of a challenge in battle; unless they were part of a larger clan of Scavengers that camped themselves at the crash site of the Escion.

She felt her breath quicken despite her attempts to calm herself, to stop risking her life any more then it needed to be. The tenser she became, the more air her lungs required, and the shorter time she had to spend reaching the Corsair and calling for rescue.

As they took aim at her, Gaia knew there was a building nearby she could hide in. Firing the first few shots, she darted to the building with non-stop fire raining on the Scavengers; nowhere near the amount of bullets that came her way though.

Old weapons, illegal weapons, and modified guns. These Scavengers weren't messing around; they were prepared for anything on the surface of Cybertron.

But they weren't wearing any form of helmets, this caught Gaia's interest. It could be a tool, a mask, on one of them that could keep her alive longer. At least, a little longer would be more than the strained limit she had now.

"As I figure it, you must be from that 'dere ship in the Undercity!" The Scavenger called out to Gaia who was hiding in the building near the door. "We've already done stripped that place clean, girl! There ain't any reason to be headin' back there now."

Gaia ignored his ranting; he only wanted to torment her. She waited until her rifle cooled down completely and turned the corner, opening fire on the Scavengers.

As they scattered, Gaia took note of where the two closest ones went.

To her left, one Scavenger dodged her blasts by ducking underneath a nearby collapsed metal pillar that offered minimal protection and the other was a little further back, though only a few feet from the closest one.

She had to play it safe, keep her breathing under control and her mind sharp, else she fail, be killed, and no one ever finds the remains of the Corsair Escion. The legendary ship deserved much, much more then to become picked clean by Scavengers and never found by her rightful owners.

If the Corsair was to die, it deserved to be placed in a museum so humanity could see the sacrifices that ship and her crew made to aid the rapidly advancing humans.

Gaia took a deep breath, holding it in as she turned the corner again, half her body still behind the door frame of the entrance. Opening fire on the closest target, Gaia was met with heavy resistance.

She barely had a shot free before the risk of being shot was too great. Outnumbered and alone, Gaia had to find a way to get the upper hand.

With her back against the wall, Gaia scanned the building. She saw a door with clutter behind it, but she could squeeze through. If there was a way to escape and put distance between herself and the Scavengers; she'd be alright with that.

Calming her nerves, Gaia took off into a full on sprint, forcing her lithe body through the rubble and debris just as she heard the Scavenger's advancing on the tower. She slipped through, barely, and continued running.

It was dark, the light from underneath the streets was beginning to diminish until finally, Gaia was engulfed by darkness. Without her helmet, she was blind as she could be, it was a shame humans couldn't see at night, and considering half the time on Earth it is dark.

Cursing her own nature, Gaia felt around the dark for the wall. When her hand felt ice cold metal, she flinched only for a second. A little discomfort was worth her life that much was for certain.

Pulling herself alongside the wall, Gaia kept moving as she could hear the sounds of the Scavengers behind her. They mumbled, stomped, and followed her. They made it through the door much easier then Gaia did; she supposed they forced it open with sheer force.

Running was a better option than trying to fight these Scavengers; they outnumbered and outgunned her. Her worst disadvantage was that her armor was ruined, incapable of offering the same shielding as it would do whole. Mentally cursing Ratchet, Gaia kept moving; she needed a way out of the tower without being caught by the Scavengers.

Just like all of the towers before, this one had open levels, no windows, but no exterior walls to speak of. This structure held itself internally and from what Gaia learned about the native species, they were bothered by weather conditions.

Going to the open side of the tower, Gaia looked out. She was on the opposite side of the tower and it wasn't connected to a street that Gaia didn't have to look straight down to see.

She couldn't climb _that_ far.

The first tower had an elevator system while others had a stairwell. Either this tower had both or at least one. She needed to go down anyways; Prowl pointed her in the direction of the tower that would do so, now she just needed to go down and look for it.

Sounds of metal being scratched by metal alarmed her, bringing her out of thought. Scanning the level quickly, Gaia saw a door broken from its frame lying flat in front of a pitch black doorway.

Grinding her teeth, Gaia ran for it, feeling the inside of this dark rooms walls and hoping it was her means of escape.

It appeared luck was on her side for now. The staircase was worn and collapsing, but it was exactly what she wanted. Skipping every other step, Gaia listened for the Scavengers who made their way through the upper levels loudly, expressing their anger as they realized she was escaping them.

Upon finding the staircase, the Scavengers knew she must've gone down; they began storming down the stairs alerting Gaia. They moved faster than her, they weren't riddled with a pounding migraine, throbbing lungs, or the concern of running out of air.

She had to move much quicker if she wanted to live.

Instead of running, Gaia began jumping down the flight of stairs, landing on the flat that separated one level from another and continuing this cycle. This saved her time, but not energy.

After a number of levels, her legs began aching and pounding as hard as her heart. It hurt, the human body wasn't built for this kind of abuse, yet she had to keep going, else those Scavengers would find themselves a new, undeserved trophy in the form of the one and only Captain of the Corsair Escion.

A claim that no one thought possible since she and her crew proved that they were undefeatable.

She didn't intend to tarnish their reputation.

While her ankles and knees went numb, she forced herself into another level, far below where she entered the tower and took to the main doors. Scavengers were right behind her, they spotted her shoving the broken door open and followed her through.

As she sprinted to the double doors that separated her from freedom, she knew she didn't have time to stop and break them open too. Baring her shoulder, she rammed the doors as hard as she could, snapped the rusted gears, and broke free from the tower. The dust blew into the air, the Scavengers behind her hollered after her and fired at her. She couldn't be captured; the only thing that would stop her was death.

The outside of the tower was brighter; she was much closer to the golden glow that had been dulled beneath the streets. It was easier to see, which wasn't a good thing now that she was being chased by Scavengers.

They were still behind her, still chasing her. Cursing, she tried to interrupt the gunfire by dodging behind debris or old street lights. It worked as their weapons weren't high grade and didn't aim well to begin with.

She had to keep running though, they had more energy and more ways to make her life hell; stopping wouldn't just kill her, it would not suit a Scavenger to just let prey go so easily.

Glancing behind her to gage where the Scavengers were, she diverted attention from the obstacles she maneuvered around.

It was that split second that Gaia knew she had made a mistake, she judged poorly and she failed to escape. A moment of weightlessness passed over her, it was a cloud that distracted her from the adrenalin, the pain, and the Scavengers; it was momentary bliss. The concern over the Corsair in the hands of these spiteful people became barely an itch in the back of her head; all her worries were drained away in this second of realization that everything was so simple and fictional.

And then, she met stone.

Groaning, she slowly pushed herself up. Too tired to get up and run again, her legs wouldn't respond to her demands. She was paralyzed; vulnerable to whatever punishments the Scavengers decided to inflict upon her.

"Well, look here." The Scavengers caught up, _Damn. It's too late._ "Looks like she fell right on her head. What a shame; you almost got away too!" He cackled, casually stepping around her. "Such a shame."

"Let's take 'er back to camp, she'll catch a prize."

Gaia was still trying to will herself up, but knew she wouldn't have the strength to fight back or even run again.

Last thing she saw was the butt of a hunting rifle.

* * *

As every minute went by, Orion gradually felt a painful void fill the space where Gaia had once held. He cared for the alien femme as much as he did his fellow Autobots. She was weak, alone, and undoubtedly afraid of the world around her.

After a few times, Orion began trying to imagine what her world must look like. He was sure what he could see in his processors optics wasn't anywhere near what her home world _Earth_, was truly like.

For a planet to sustain a life form, sentient, and highly intelligent, Orion could only assume the planet's beauty.

She mentioned _trees_ before and wildlife. Some form of unintelligent creature that survived side by side with humans on Earth. Or perhaps she meant something else? Something far more complicated then another specie living blissfully in the world around it.

Or maybe it was... Orion wished to know more about Earth, about humans and their culture. He remembered the feeling of sureness when he'd log the questions away for a later time, waiting patiently in the Autobot ranks until they were alone and he could release a new slew of queries that he was so excited about.

Though, once or twice, he questioned Gaia on things she didn't know. He found no problem with that. Orion had travelled all over Cybertron and still so much of it was a mystery to him.

Instead, Gaia satisfied his hunger for knowledge by giving him new things to think about then she'd expand on them. Usually, they wouldn't have enough time to divulge into great detail so he'd be left wondering, asking himself, and find himself waiting yet again for more answers to new questions he thought up while away from Gaia.

Now, he realized, he'd never have those answers and no matter how badly he wanted to state his curiosity, he wanted all the more to have Gaia walking with him.

That was the best feeling he yet had. Her calmness while trekking through dangerous cities always made him feel safer. It was, probably, an unwise idea to allow that _feeling_ to get to him while he should be keeping a keen optic out for Decepticons.

He smiled openly, remembering Gaia as she was rather then what will probably happen within the next few days.

These daunting thoughts that tormented him were forced on him by his own conscience. As unpleasant as it was, he supposed that Gaia fared worse and his attack of conscience was more than deserved.

Gaia assured him that this wasn't his fault; the Autobots didn't have time nor sources to deal with an alien race during such a great war. She was unpredictable to them and therefore a threat.

If this was anyone else, Orion would've agreed. Over the few days he knew Gaia, he had called her a friend; a companion who fought beside him.

It didn't take long for Orion to notice that, even with all her tales of her specie and her home, he still knew so little about _her_. Losing a bond mate is painful and, if she was a hero before, she may not be anymore. Loss is the one thing that could change a kindhearted person into a vengeful murderer.

After everything though, Orion really didn't want to think about what Gaia must be thinking now or even where she is. With luck, she may be able to reach her ship and be rescued before she suffocates.

The very idea of suffocation confused Orion; Cybertronian's didn't need oxygen to survive, it was something their planet offered and they harnessed for many different reasons. Power being one of them.

Orion marched dutifully beside his comrades and all he could do was hope that Gaia would be saved by her own people in time.

As they approached the battlefields, Orion could see movement beyond the towers. Decepticons had arrived and bunkered down for now; more than likely they had scouts that spotted the Autobots and relayed this to their leader.

Megatron was here, Orion knew it when he saw Sentinel Prime stand at attention. The battle hadn't begun just yet, the Decepticons were still preparing for the battle just as the Autobots were now.

The instructions passed without mention; they've all fought in battles before, some nearly as large as this one.

So as they made base in the tallest, most defensible tower they could find, everyone began testing their weapons and limitations.

Orion would mostly stay by Kup, as the old war veteran knew tricks to dealing with new and old weaponry; ways to improve upon their abilities and Orion wanted that advantage.

Right now, however, Orion had been posted on patrol. They needed to ready themselves, but still were wary about a Decepticon ambush.

Standing guard at broken bridge, Orion kept his processor in check by counting the number of streets and towers surrounding him. It helped him stop wondering about Gaia and how she is faring alone; against all odds.

He hoped no Decepticon scouts found her interesting enough to report; because he knew the Decepticons would be scouring the area for reinforcements and trying to make sure the Autobots had no more numbers then the ones that had already arrived.

Just as the Autobots were doing.

This was war and it had to be fought with all resources available; if the faction wanted to emerge the victor that is.

It wasn't much that Orion wanted out of this battle, just a place for him and his Autobots in the rebuilt Cybertron. If the Autobots won, of course.

He wondered that, if Gaia arrived and was rescued by her fellow specie in time, would humans seek Cybertron out again? Gaia did mention that she discovered and crashed on Cybertron without any intentions or expectations out of their solar system.

That and she had spoken of humans bad experiences with alien life in the past, what humanity did in retaliation to the mass genocide, and what they did to ensure such war crimes would never take her people again.

In this case, would it be better that humans chose to ignore Cybertron, leave them alone, and be satisfied with the recovery of the Corsair Escion and Gaia De Mercurio's survival of such a devastating crash?

Orion hoped humanity would decide Cybertron was worth closer inspection; looking on their numbers and chance of victory, Orion believed that while the war could be won, they could only do so with greater numbers and far more experienced warriors.

Was humanity a war-born race as Cybertronians were? Or were they a peaceful sort? Gaia's physic and personality told Orion that humans were far tougher then they looked.

With a natural healing system, humans seemed to adapt to many things better then Orion knew his kind would.

Even with his quiet yearning for Gaia's safety, Orion remained vigilant.

He wouldn't let the Autobots down; he wouldn't disappoint Gaia.

* * *

**_Any and all news pertaining to the author or this story is posted at the top. :)_**


	17. Vacation Notice!

**NOTICE!**

I'm afriad I'll be gone for the next week on vacation. I should return Monday next week and, until then, there will be no updates.

If you wish, you can take this time to send me suggestions, corrections, or ideas that will enhance this story in the near future.

Thanks for being so patient! I am anxious to return and continue writing. There's no internet access in a Hotel. :(

Enjoy what I have, rant about it, or just ignore it completely.

Have a great week! :D


	18. Never Tell Me the Odds

_**The Next Life**_

_By Kaimaler_.

* * *

_Disclaimer:  
I do NOT own the Transformers in any way, shape or form. Characters all belong to their creators and dedicated, official representative companies and franchises._

_Claimer:  
© 2010-2011 - Custom Transformers Universe and Custom Transformers Characters belongs to Kaimaler.  
Kaimaler - Transformers Fanfiction: "The Next Life."_

**Review Replies:**

**Rockubyebaby:**

_Yeah, but I'm back. AND HERE'S YOUR LONG AWAITED CHAPTER 17 :D_

_Sorry about the disappointment, but I wanted to warn you all before the readers became concerned over this story and it's lack of updates recently. Instead, I WANT TO TAKE A GIANT LEAP in the story line and we visit the latest addition to the plot this chapter. :)_

* * *

Gaia awoke in a dark, destroyed room or what appeared to be a room.

Her sight was blurred, marred by the migraine she'd been experiencing for quite some time now. Unfortunately, this made things worse as she now remembered what had happened only a few hours ago.

"She's waking up." A man's voice, unfamiliar and rough, almost unnatural reached her ears. "Then get her attention, I have to deal with this first then we'll begin."

She looked up, catching a glimpse of the man approaching her. Her sight hadn't improved and all she got was a fuzzy image of a dark clad man kneeling down in front of her. "Hey there, lass." He addressed her, "Time to wake up, eh?"

"Who..." She sighed, "Who are you?"

"Name's Lance, I'm a Prospector from Janec Bay; planet Arath." He rested his gun aside, "And you must be Captain Gaia Merlo."

Lazily, she shook her head. "Wrong gal, Prospector."

He chuckled, "Right, you got married to that De Mercurio fellow from Earth. Rich boy Victor De Mercurio." He scratched the side of his face, "Y'know, you didn't actually announce your new surname; most of us still know you as, correct me if I'm wrong, _el flagelo de espacio libre_."

"It wasn't espacio libre to begin with." Gaia huffed, "Free space implies that it was for any and all, not just for Scavengers and _prospectors_."

He leaned closer, "Hmm, almost completely blind and you can still whip that tongue of yours." He cupped her jaw and moved her head to the side, "Parece que se está poniendo peor. You should really get that checked; it could be what is causing your pains."

"What is?" Gaia couldn't move as it was, she knew escape wasn't an option, but when she yanked her arms forward to push him away she found she couldn't move. Her hands were tied behind her; that wasn't a good sign.

"There is this strange red burn on the side of your face, from my time in space it looks like you got electrocuted; the past tells me that if you've damaged too many veins or even shocked your brain, it could cause permanent damage." He ran his thumb across the thin, vein-like markings. "It could kill you, lass."

"I wasn't aware it was there." She told the truth; no mirrors or even time to check herself medically? No way could she have seen that.

"Lance." A voice called from behind him, "Time to start."

"Sorry, lass." The Prospector hooked his arms under hers, "Either this'll go smoothly or not."

Blinking, Gaia was hoisted from the ground and onto her feet. Trying to catch her balance, Gaia was ushered along to the man who called to Lance before. It was an unfamiliar voice, but one that caught her full attention.

"Welcome to your home, Captain." He greeted, "Do you recognize it?"

She looked to the man in front of her, though her vision wasn't at its best, familiarity washed over her live a title wave. It felt comfortable, yet wrong. This was a place she'd been to before... It wasn't an Autobot outpost or even Iacon. (Else the Cybertronian Elders have something to answer for.)

Slowly glancing around, Gaia got a feel of her new surroundings.

This wasn't a Scavenger vessel, not even a hijacked Wayfarer's space-worthy homestead. It was too large, too spacious and... Warm. Gaia gulped, this wasn't how she wanted her legacy to end; especially not for-

"I can see it in your face, Captain." The man stepped forward, "You realize what ship you are on."

"Why here? It's a skeleton, Scavenger. It holds no worth on the market." Gaia growled, "It's a broken ship crashed on an abandoned planet; you can't sell it, steal it, or even use it as a base."

"Maybe not, but I've learned over the years." Taking a deep breath, the man gestured Lance to usher her further along. They walked slowly on account of Gaia's weakened state. "Corsair's, these fabulous ships, were built to take a beating. Crashing half-way to the surface of a planet? Not hard."

_Half-way?_

"However, even if this ship was nothing but scrap metal scattered about, that one vital part would remain intact." They stopped, still it was too hard and blurry for her to see straight. "These vessels were built specifically to defend and protect; I've never seen a single weapon or devastating crash that could puncture the great walls of a Corsair's Vault."

Gaia felt suddenly more steady; vault's weren't public knowledge. This man must've been in another Corsair to know such a thing exists.

"This Corsair is no exception, Captain." They stopped in front of a large burned door. It was the vault that still kept its walls up and door locked. Gaia was amazed to see it standing, only in rare cases had something survived from space to planet ground. The heat, velocity, and power was too much for the majority of ships and crafts.

Yet, the Corsair's famous Vault was a liability at times. It was not acceptable to divulge the way to unlock the vault; it was a unique lock, one built of a complex code integrated into a three dimensional encrypted data program. The manufacturers of the Corsair took no chances after the model became widely produced and used as Earth defense.

Another thing hit her, Gaia looked around the Escion's vault and, as she suspected, there were wires and cables running from the vault to other rooms. It was the power cords, the Scavenger's repaired them to give the vault power. A vault was built to withstand being lost in a black hole (though that was never tested) and when all power was gone, the vault would seal itself shut; it was designed that even in the case of the death of the Corsair carrying it, that it would not be defenseless.

These vaults usually contained valuable information. To the Corsair's orbiting Earth, they often held battle plans in case of emergencies, positions of all ships on Earth's defense, and even information pertaining to the Corsair's abilities. Which meant any enemy dedicated to attacking Earth would need to find a way into a Corsair's vault to access the sensitive data.

Only she and the second-in-command were allowed the codes to the vault. Gaia knew her vault codes by heart, it was too important not to.

"Open the vault." It wasn't a very well veiled threat. He'd do whatever's necessary to get her to open it.

If she did, she was dead, they'd kill her anyways. That was the foremost important thing she could think of and if she withheld the codes, they'd do anything to make her and fail; still probably kill her after their boss realized she wouldn't do it no matter what they did to her.

Even if they didn't kill her if she decided to open the vault, it was law not to give military information to a known enemy. She'd be jailed for the rest of her life, regardless of her past or what she had done for the expansion of humanity and the furthering of scientific evaluation of known and uncharted planets.

Pursing her lips, Gaia knew what was going to happen next. "I'm afraid I can't do that." He fine well knew that was going to be her answer from the start and it was highly likely she'd never answer; Corsair Captains were picked from hundreds of promising prospects. Only one is chosen and they're brick walls when it comes to interrogations.

"Then you know what happens here." He stated, gesturing for his men. "Could've been easy, Captain."

"You'd kill me anyways and even if you didn't, I wouldn't be able to go home." She shook her head, allowing her arms to be pulled behind her back and tied at the wrists again. "Good luck, Scavenger; you're gonna' need it." With a smirk, they lead her to the adjacent room.

He walked candidly behind them and when they entered the room, Gaia spotted a chair ten feet from a wall. She figured that's where she'd spend her last moments at, with any luck she'd suffocate before they tortured her too bad. She wanted to make sure her body was recognizable for any rescue or scouting crews that come this way.

They forced her into the chair, though they didn't have to. She surrendered, there wasn't a way out and trying to escape would only make things worse. Countless Scavengers and Prospectors covered the crash site of the Corsair Escion, she'd be caught and returned no matter what she did to escape.

Untying her hands, they clasped her wrists to the chair as well as her ankles. Her wrists were bare and at the end of this they'd be scared and infected; most likely anyways.

"I'll give you a chance twice a day." The man, their leader, said. He took a seat nearby her that was just off to her right side. "You can give me the codes and go free, or you stay here; you know where that goes, I don't have to spell it out for you."

Gaia didn't reply, she remained quiet and stared straight passed the man. This wasn't going to be quick and painless, but she was trained to withstand extreme conditions, she was nearly burned alive; she could do this.

"You'll be here for the next few days, weeks, months even. It all depends on when you tell us those codes." He leaned forward, clasping his hands in front of him. Seeing her unresponsive and stoic, he sighed. "Doesn't have to be like this. I'll be back tonight."

With that, he stood and left the room. Three men remained, one including the man she met when she awoke. Lance was his name, a Prospector by trade; he'd give the Scavengers connection to the Black Market if they ever got their way into the Corsair's vault.

It wouldn't happen; Gaia wouldn't die knowing she failed her people. The information stored in those impenetrable walls was invaluable; it could start and end a war, not in humanities favor though.

"You can scream if you want; some people find it a great... relief." Lance said, taking the empty seat beside her. "We're all business men here, we can talk or get to work. Whenever you want to talk, just speak up."

Glancing to the Prospector, Gaia gave him a questioning look, daring him to try and get the codes out of her.

"If that's the way you want to play, we can do that too." He stood, "Get her set up, I don't feel like getting messy today."

A man walked behind her, she could hear his voice strain as he picked up a heavy object and shuffled back to her. It made a loud thump as it hit the ground, not even alarming her though.

It was an old corroded battery with wires attached to the negative and positive charges. She gulped lightly as she watched the wires be connected to the metal of the chair they locked her into.

This was going to hurt.

* * *

It started a while ago; Decepticons moved in from two sides, thankfully, the Autobots had defended those points well. They saw a number of the 'Con's moving in and alerted their main base.

Sentinel Prime replied with the advancing armies by readying his long range soldiers. Snipers hid in a few towers and took aim. They weren't close enough to open fire then, but the moment Orion heard the sound of high tension rifles firing, he knew the snipers had started the battle. It would last some time before the Decepticons got close enough to engage the first wave.

Orion wasn't there; he was only in the front lines when they planned on retreating or in case of ambush. Orion was a good fighter, a mech who'd get his allies to safety first then save himself.

As the armies descended upon the Autobots, Orion watched from a short distance as the soldiers of both factions collided. It was already turning into a worse battle then what Orion had experienced before. Loss of life was always terrible and not many soldiers had fallen yet, but the Decepticons were far more vicious here and in these numbers then Orion had expected.

It wasn't warfare that required a carefully articulated battle strategy and often had unspoken rules for honor and conduct. The Decepticons met the Autobots with both crude weaponry and melee. It was battle of will and strength; this no longer called for Prowl's detailed plans.

This was criminal warfare, without law or honor. Decepticons never had any in the first place, but they always refrained from the obvious slaughter that broke the barrier between faction war and tyranny.

Orion waited for the call, it'd send him and many of his close friends into battle. He'd fight like he's never fought before, he'd do all he could, but even he wouldn't tempt the fine line of murder and battle.

He would lie to anyone and say he held no fear in his spark for that call; if he was speaking to Gaia again, he'd be honest though. He dreaded the call for it would sound his likely offlining. Gaia told him not to fear though, to stop and face what may come.

So, to remember her, he would.

Facing what is almost certainly the end is never easy, no matter who says what or what is done to make it easier. It was always tough, a frightening topic and a most unfortunate, inevitable truth.

With a heavy sigh, Orion heard the call.

"Time to move!" It was Kup, he functioned as Sentinel's second right now. "Decepticons are pushing through our front lines, we need heavy fire to suppress their advancement."

Orion lifted his weapon, it was half the size of his arm and packed a punch; Ironhide was one of the many reasons this blaster was in existence. It was a little heavier than he was used to and required him to be at medium to close range to be effective. That was a bad thing actually; he was better at a longer range, but he could fight in close quarters when the time called for it.

He answered the call and joined in, his friends and brothers in arms rushed to the front lines.

The cargo elevator led them straight to the battle field and as soon as the doors swung open, Orion could hear the blasters louder than before. Made sense of course, he was much closer to the fight then he was a few moments ago.

With his allies, he went straight to the doors. There, Ironhide waited to receive them.

"The Decepticons haven't reached this far yet, but keep your helms down and cover your afts!" He ordered, seeing the Decepticons above the helms of his Autobot defense. "They can't hit us here, doesn't stop a lucky shot though. Now get out there!"

Shoving the Autobots off, he gave cover fire while they reached cover. Orion hit the built walls hard. Already shots were fired over his head, nearly skimming his armor before he reached the barricade.

Steeling his nerves, Orion fought back.

Everything else seems so small compared to his shots and those coming at him. The sound of missed blasts, bullseyes, and the all too familiar smell of burning metal.

Orion took the time to dodge back behind cover just before a shot came an inch from his optics, too much attention had been forced in his direction, he couldn't fire for long before the Decepticons took aim at him.

"Didn't you hear ol' Hide?" The mech next to him laughed, it was dark, but some mechs deal with stress in different ways. "Keep your head down!" The mech came out from cover, firing off a few shots before hiding again. Too much attention to fight effectively.

There was a particularly bothersome Decepticon to the right, Orion could hit him, he just needed to time it right.

After a few seconds, attention was diverted from him and his Autobot ally to the other well protected Autobots. Taking his chance, Orion emerged partially from his cover and lined up his sights with the closest Decepticon; the one landing so many shots on Orion's cover. Too close for his tastes, it had to be dealt with.

He ignored others around him to target this Decepticon and, after a minute, Orion fired a single shot. It was a heavier gun, as he noted the first time he carried it; he wasn't used to it, yet that shot struck the Decepticon right in the helm. Discharge was visible even from their slight distance, the energon leaked from the Decepticon even before his empty metal shell hit the ground.

That was one obstacle crossed, there was far more than just that.

"Nice shot." The Autobot beside him congratulated, "I couldn't get that glitch with this. It's no good for plate to plate battle like this." He showed Orion the rifle, it was a distance rifle, built to fire longer distances and still do the damage, if not more, then a hand cannon like the one given to Orion.

Glancing at his weapon, Orion took this opportunity. "I do better with distance between me and my target; trade?" Orion held out the cannon for the mech to see. It was a very fine weapon, Orion just wasn't the best he could be with it.

The mech's optics went out a second, "Primus, yes!" Snatching the cannon, he threw the rifle into Orion's hands happily. "You can have it; I like being up close and personal." With a cackle, the mech opened fire on the Decepticons, more than pleased with his new weapon.

He was considerably better with it, Orion could see the shots the mech fired off and it came within milimeters of their targets.

Smiling, Orion checked to the Autobot side. He needed to get farther away from the front line to use the rifle with a noticeable effect. Up here directly in front of the Decepticons, he wouldn't have time to get a good shot off.

Taking his chance, Orion darted further into Autobot lines. Rushing on the side of the line of fire, Orion reached a decent enough spot. It would see a little action, but just enough to keep Orion aware and to remind him he needed to move faster than usual.

Sliding behind cover, Orion rested the barrel of the long range rifle on the edge of a short metal wall Autobots were using as cover.

This was much better.

Orion searched beyond the front lines, making sure he didn't accidentally hit one of his own as he lined up a shot. Over the helms of his allies, Orion found his first target.

A black Decepticon was doing terrible damage to the Autobot barriers. Orion recognized the mech, it wasn't the first time he'd run into the Decepticon. Barricade wasn't exactly subtle when it came to battle; he made his kills known.

Unfortunately, for a bulky mech, Barricade moved unnaturally fast around a hot zone. As blasters fired off in his direction, Barricade made a habit of showing off his talents.

The cannons he carried were integrated parts of his circuitry and, therefore, did three times as much damage as a regular weapon.

Firing wildly, and still doing damage, Barricade charged his right cannon; as it charged, he remained still. A perfect time with a sniper lining you up. Orion stopped himself, steadying his hands as he let off the first round.

The blast hit the Decepticon in the chest, but didn't penetrate his armor plates. Even a high density rifle couldn't break a Cybertronian's chest plates; it was simply too well guarded.

Orion's processor flashed; it went back to when he met Gaia.

* * *

_The battle ended, but he was stuck in the arena. It wasn't the best feeling, he just couldn't chase after his fellow Autobots after _that_._

_Orion almost groaned, the giant blast hole in the wall wasn't in anyway discreet. A Decepticon scouting party could see it from miles away; not that the smoke and discharge nearly bathing the entire area like acid rain didn't already tell any mech, Autobot or Decepticon, that something had happened nearby. This hadn't been the ideal conclusion to such a fight._

_Orion had been shot twice, nothing that harmed him too badly, just enough to hurt though. He could feel the cut cables in his arm and side, while they burned, it didn't actually wound him._

_He had to wait here until the others returned, as they no doubt would... Or would they?_

_This time he did let out a loud groan. As his comlink buzzed to life, Orion tried to contact the others, yet no reply came. The low barely audible scratching sound told him that connection had been lost or even damaged. Either way, he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon._

_Instead, he waited and waited until the first sign of life, Autobot or Decepticon, would come his way. At least that would be some form of contact._

_Orion scouted his area, checking for anyone in the sector. So far, he came up with nothing, until his localized radar picked up a small object just on the edge. It could've been a Cybertronian, yet Orion's radar told him this life sign was a heat source that he's not seen a Cybertronian produce. It wasn't a person, it was just a small area where the factions had collided. It was a hot spot, left over radiation from the blasts of a laser that was significant enough for his radar to read it._

_The Autobots would note his absence and come searching for him; it wasn't that which concerned him. It was who would find him first and how would he would react that'll change everything._

_He couldn't leave, the Autobots wouldn't find him without the radios working and he's in Decepticon territory; leaving with only a single blaster after a large battle that has worn him down wasn't the best idea._

_After so long of silence, he barely kept himself still by watching the smoke rise from the burned ground and walls. Rubble and blast marks reminded him of certain moments in battle. Sentinel going after a Decepticon he clearly didn't want to get away; Orion didn't know who it was, but Sentinel seemed determined to catch up to the fleeing mech. Which meant he and his fellow Autobots had to cover him._

_A flurry of fire came from the Autobots as they began noticing the retreat of the Decepticons. They won, no one was lost; the ideal outcome of an ambush._

_With his processor elsewhere, he failed to keep a watch on the area and, due to that, someone managed to sneak into the building behind him._

_Rubble tumbled down, alarming Orion at first and when he turned around to find the cause of this disturbance, he was met with a very strange looking mech... Or femme?_

_No femme had glitch so bad to come out of protected cities. Iacon held some of the only femme's left and, even then, they were dwindling. This oddly appearing... Cybertronian had not taken his presence lightly._

_At first, he was concerned that he let his guard down and a Decepticon managed to get to him without him realizing it. Then, as the lithe figure approached, Orion desperately searched the armor for an Autobot insignia or some sign that this wasn't actually what it seemed._

_To a normal Autobot, they would've assumed an enemy and attacked. No thoughts about what was hiding behind this large red visor or the barrel of this blaster. However, Orion was always considered to think a little too much about a situation, about another mech or femme. It was his talent to read others like their life stories were bare in front of his optics._

_This was no exception. The unknown figure stopped dead ahead of him, the blaster aimed at his processor. A bit of machinery that could be repaired, this wasn't an offlining threat between Cybertronians, merely a tactic used in hostage based warfare. It was painful, very much so, yet most damage that occurred could be replaced and repaired without hurting the Cybertronian who owned the processor._

_Orion was barely aware the being ahead began speaking, in a tongue that sounded so smooth and uninterrupted. His audio receptors almost couldn't pick up the sounds as they ran together like melted metal. Without flaw or imperfection._

_Then the voice deepened and the blaster aimed lower. His spark wasn't well defended against a powerful enough bolt from point blank range. That would offline him instantly._

_Not something he was partial to, yet when he tried to reply, the words made less sense to the stranger than they did to him and, honestly, he doesn't even know what he said to the... creature who threatened him. He didn't feel vulnerable, he'd still fight if the time came, but he preferred to know what this _thing_ was._

_He meant no offense, if ever asked, but how else could he explain the obvious alien nature this being displayed? The joints bent so easily one would think they weren't moving at all and they emitted nearly no sound. The only noise he heard from the alien (and he uses that term reluctantly, the improbability of aliens reaching this planet and meeting one was less then he cared to process) was the clicking sounds of the cords and pipes that ran from the helmet to the armor plating, the belt that carried a number of items, and finally the large flexible box-like case the creature wore on its back._

_His logic sensors ran like wild, trying to explain the existence of this impossible being. Impossible? Was that right?..._

_As he drifted into a new form of thought, the creature became alert._

_When contact came, he figured he was offlined. The alien was pointing the barrel of what appeared to be a weapon that could blow a hole in Ironhide's thick armor. Then he was aware he was being pulled aside._

_Tossed behind cover, the alien slid down beside him, keeping a firm grip on his upper arm. Concerned, Orion checked for life again and his radar replied by sending him warning messages._

Decepticons Incoming_._

_Orion was ready to battle, ready to reach for his weapon and give the Decepticons a reason to fear him. Yet the new creature beside him held him down, barely peaking over the edge of their cover._

_As if they were malfunctioning, the Decepticons left without a fight._

_They didn't see him? Or the alien? How come? What happened for those Decepticons to completely miss or ignore their presence? Orion's logic sensors once more buzzed to life, studying the chances of this unreasonably lucky break._

_Orion looked to the alien who stood, inviting him to do so as well._

_His radar sent him warnings until the Decepticons were out of the area and, only then, did he discover that on his radar he could not see the alien, but in its place he was sent a heat signature unlike a Cybertronians._

_Alien indeed._

* * *

Orion grinned, a good memory.

Gaia's original alien appearance was amusing to him now that he found an ally within the creature, nay, the human. She was as powerful in will as she was alert on the battlefield. She would've made a fierce Autobot.

Decepticons paid no heed to the Autobots' lesser ranks, the privates and infantry; only in numbers did they plot against his brothers in arms. He would never make a notable impact upon the Decepticons, they knew his designation just as Orion knew many of theirs. The few he knew holding any form of impact was the leaders, the same from the Decepticons about the Autobots. Sentinel Prime, Prowl, Ironhide, and a few select mechs made themselves known.

Orion wasn't the greatest warrior the Autobots ever had, not by any means, but he wasn't one who'd stop fighting just because he didn't believe himself infamous to the Decepticons enough to be effective in the war effort.

He knew better, surrender was always the weak option and standing to fight was bravery held by even less mechs on the whole of Cybertron. If anything, he wanted the Decepticons to know he wasn't going without a fight.

As he fired upon the Decepticons, he titled the ones he found. Many of them easily recognizable, the Decepticons who rivaled many of his own closest allies and friends. Some like Barricade, others like Brawl.

He assumed that the Decepticons were now counting how many face plates they could designate so they could boast about the ones the defeated in order of power and number.

In a machine haze, Orion aimed and fired shots off like a, unfeeling mechanical derelict. It was unlike him to not think about _who_ he was offlining or injuring. As of this moment he only focused on _what_ they were and they were all Decepticons.

Red optics, a familiar sign that told him to resist. The sharp plates fashioned as the sign of the Decepticons, it was everywhere, and Orion learned to use that sign as a bullseye at times.

The bridge of the face, between the pointed optics were the gates to a Decepticon's spark. Some didn't have the insignia on their chest, instead it was placed on shoulders and, rarely, sides of their helms.

Here, Orion found himself in the place of a generic soldier, fighting for the sake of fighting, no compassion, only inconveniencing himself to stiffly move from one target to another.

In barely a second, Orion stared down the scope of his rifle to see a familiar yet _un_familiar sight.

A helm with a smaller visor then Gaia's, yet it was a bright blue, lighter than his own optics. It shined like the center of Cybertron and the only thing that told Orion this visor belonged to a Decepticon was the loosely held symbol on the center of their chest plates.

Armor smooth and soundless, quiet, too much so to be Cybertronian and joints that moved easier than any Autobots or Decepticons he had ever seen.

Only one other being on Cybertron made these movements seem so carelessly easy.

"Gaia?" Orion's optics nearly blanked out completely, other Autobots noticed the cover fire he offered no longer rang out. Some glanced back to him, none had the time to focus though.

As the new figure rose back from cover, Orion was certain that was no Cybertronian and it couldn't have been his human friend. The body was larger, seemed wider somehow; the armor was different and bore unfamiliar designs.

It wasn't her, but it wasn't a Decepticon by spark.

Orion's logic sensors rang in his helm louder than they ever did before.

One in a million.

* * *

**_Any and all news pertaining to the author or this story is posted at the top. :)_**


	19. The Duo

**_The Next Life_**

_By Kaimaler_

* * *

_**I... I have no words. **For the longest time I held no interest or ability to write.  
Kinda' have a lot going on here and while I do find myself in a state of depression, I don't think that's an excuse to not publish a single chapter for so long.  
_

_Keep in mind that I do love writing for you guys, it's been a blast so far hearing about you and what you think about this story. I know there are mistakes here and there, but I'm no where near perfect and have absolutely no professional training in writing arts.  
I just like to do it, so I do what I do. :3_

_I'm going to complete this story and I want to complete it soon. I want you guys to be happy with where this story goes and how it ends, though the end is getting trickier as time goes on._

_And, due to the many suggestions and questions I've received about "_Is this a romance story?_" between Orion and Gaia, I used to say "_Nope, just good friends._" But I have since decided against that._

_Starting this chapter, the romance between Orion Pax and Gaia De Mercurio will begin._

_Yes, that's right. This is now a romance. I never intended it to be, but it is. So there you have it. I hope you all still enjoy it as much as you did in the past. I will update more often, though I might not update everyday, like I used to, but I will have something published every week. At least, I'll try to as much as I can._

_Forgive my many mistakes in this chapter, as you know, I've been away from writing anything for quite some time and need to get back into the rhythm of it.  
I may rewrite this chapter later on to cover up this mistakes and make it more fluid, but for right now... I honestly think you more the deserve a chapter to make up for lost time. :)_

_**I'm going to try and respond to all the reviews I've missed. While I may miss a few here again, I'll be getting back into the proper flow of Review Replies in the next chapter. Just submit your review and I will reply. :3**  
_

**_Nightwing101:  
_**_I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. It was never my intention to hold out on my readers. I will be writing the rest of this story and expanding on the human/cybertronian relationship in the future. We'll mainly focus on Orion and Gaia still. :3_

_**autobotfan:  
**I just did._:O

_**Xireana Zetsubou:  
**__I will say this, Gaia will not be present when Orion becomes Optimus, but he will in due time. It will be before the end of this story though. :3  
I'm glad to hear you say this. The universe I created around this story is far more detailed then I can show anyone right now, but when I begin to expand on the human/cybertronian relations it will become more apparent. :D  
_

_**KaiH:  
**Thanks! I've worked long and hard creating this story and the characters in it. I had begun work over a year and a half before I ever even began to write it. :3_

_**Horser01:  
**In this chapter you learn who the human(s) are. A little bit of a development is made on Gaia's position in this story, but there really isn't much to tell that you don't already know. She is captured and has no way to escape, it's no fun for the writer or the reader to read about how they perform the torture sessions. :P_

_**Rockubyebaby:  
**Well here you have it, enjoy! :D  
_

_**Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar Crystal:  
**Hey Sunstar! It's been so long since we last spoke. :P  
I hope everything is going well for you, I know another friend up there and he lives on this little island over an hour from any store. It sounds so sad. ;-;  
Poor him. x3_

_Anyways, hope to talk to you soon! 3_

_**Dragon260:  
**Y'know, I was thinking about that. I suppose you'll find out in this chapter, but let's just say that it's a little too cliche for me. I try not to make my stories so predictable. :P_

_**Great Diabla Assassin:  
**Who knows! I don't! Or maybe I do! WHO KNOWS! :D_

_Well, here's some more info about the everything in this story. Hope you enjoy it! :3_

* * *

Once his sensors finally switched back on, Orion ducked. He could feel his spark snapping wildly. Another human? Gaia said her ship crashed, that it was impossible for any of the crew to have survived.

It was the very reason Orion felt so much sympathy for her, not only did she crash on an alien planet but she survived where her crew did not. It was pain worse than death; people she knew for years, trusted with her life died in that ship.

Yet here was one, only a little ways from him, fighting the Autobots. The armor this human wore was bulkier, the visor was thinner and only covered the human's optics, instead of Gaia's red visor this one was a golden color and the armor was black, bearing symbols and markings he couldn't even begin to understand.

The size of this human was also of note, Gaia never said if she was tall or short by human standards, but this human was optic level with Sentinel. This human was massive in height and stature.

He was worried now though, was this human fighting with the Decepticons by will or not? Decepticons were known to force others into their service, just because these were humans didn't mean that they weren't of any use to the Decepticons.

As he stared at the figure, a blast from one of the Autobots hit his shoulder and the human fell back only for another to rush to their side. Stunningly, this was another human that dodged behind cover and tried to tend to the injured human.

More? How many? Two more, a dozen more? He kicked himself mentally, he was thinking of humans as he would a parasite or virus.

Just as quickly as he recognized the alien armor, he noticed one running away...

Orion felt obligated to follow this other human, where was it going? Was it planning something? He watched the human sneak away from Decepticon lines while the large heavily armored human covered their back.

Glancing around, he saw no one thought twice about this alien, they all thought it was just another Decepticon. That was both useful for him and very bad. If they shot this human, he had not a clue the repercussion that would avenge a human's death. Gaia always said that the humans back home knew of her crew very well and that they would come looking for the Corsair.

If those humans discovered Autobots fired and killed humans even in the heat of battle... What would they do to justify the wrong?

Haste overtook him and he dodged behind Autobot front lines, trying to follow the human he spotted behind enemy lines.

The human was heading to a nearby structure, a stabilizer vent; the old technology that would aid in supporting the planet-wide metropolis of Cybertron, but they were outdated decades ago and few remain unscathed by time. This one vent fared no better than the collapsing towers beside it.

Why this human was entering one through a broken panel, he couldn't guess, but he guessed he would find out soon if he succeeded in tailing the human.

Few Autobots stopped to ask where Orion was heading; thankfully all that was done to stop him was a few mechs trying to reach him through comm links. It didn't work.

"Orion! Where do you think you're going?" Ironhide's vocals boomed in his receptors, causing the red and blue mech to wince. Turning off the comm link, he ignored Ironhide and the other Autobots trying to contact him. He was glad none of them had the time to stop him from pursuing this human.

He ducked through old broken bars and scaffolding, this building was almost completely destroyed, every step Orion took made him worry that the floor would fall beneath him.

As the dents and cracks of the floor actually began to widen around him, Orion noticed the human had not noticed him and was jogging through the building without a sweat.

The only thing that came to Orion's processor was how light humans must be. This human was running side to side, taking a strange gray rectangular object out of its storage device and began to point at pillars on the far side of the building, seemingly counting them.

Orion, slowly stepping forward, watched closely as the human took the gray block and stuck it to the largest pillar. Looking around, Orion could easily recognize his peoples' architecture and realized that the pillar the human connected the block to was supporting what was left of this building.

Then, just as he was a few steps behind the human, he saw wires being stuck into the gray block and began to input something on this small screen that was half the size of the block.

It beeped. Then it beeped again and somehow, in the recesses of Orion's processor, he quickly put the pieces together.

The human was placing some strange alien explosive on the farthest supporting pillar in order to tip this tower onto the battlefield. He did not understand why this alien would do such a thing, but good mech's were at risk if this building fell on them.

The tower they stood in would mostly hit Decepticon's, perhaps the human's plan all along, but the street the battle took place on would collapse and fall into the many roads and towers below until every last thing was gone. This included all the Autobots caught in the way.

He jumped into action, detonating this building could be useful against the Decepticons, but right now the same risk was on the Autobot side and this human was clearly not paying attention to that.

"Wait, stop!" Orion called out, just behind the human.

The human froze in place, didn't move and inch or make a sound. Then, faster than Blurr, the human twisted around and the heel of its foot came full force on him helm, knocking him down in shock.

_New information, humans can kick hard._ Orion groaned as he leaned up, the human towering over him now with his own weapon in the alien's hands.

Right as the human was about to fire, Orion thought of the only thing that could make this human listen. "I know Gaia De Mercurio!" He held a hand in defense, watching as the human hesitated to fire.

"You speak Basic." The human still held the barrel of the weapon between Orion's optics. "I've learned about this world, about your kind. Warmongers, vengeful creatures. I would happily do away with all of you..."

Orion was still online, which meant the human was giving him a chance... Or prolonging his demise, either way he was prepared to explain and wanted nothing more then return one of Gaia's people back to her.

"I am a friend, you have learned of the Decepticon's and their way, we are not like them. We are Autobots and we defend our home, even though we are losing." Orion slowly began to rise, the human tensing as he did so. "After a battle with the Decepticon's, I was separated from my allies. This is where I met who I believe to be your captain, Gaia De Mercurio. She was like you are now, ready to fire given a reason, yet we discussed our differences and she traveled with us for a short time."

"You're lying, tincan." The human growled, "Our Captain was thrown from the cockpit. No one could survive that fall, even if she did... She wouldn't survive long afterwards." The human raised the weapon threateningly.

"How else would I know her name, or your language? How else would I know that your vessel, the Corsair Escion, was one of the first of its kind?" Orion tried to use what he learned from Gaia to prove he spoke the truth, "Or about Nuevo Polaris? The one star in this galaxy you follow back to your homeworld?"

He watched the human's grip tighten, as if trying to reassure itself that he was just like the Decepticons, lying and cheating their way to survive.

Holding still, he awaited the human's decision, to destroy him or to believe him, but the human remained as still as a tower, never faltering. He felt the stare from behind the visor, it was overpowering and he tried to resist trying to talk, to break the tension.

After a short while, the human's resolve broke. "You... couldn't." The alien weapon was lowered and the human was slumped forward in defeat. "Is... is she really alive?" The human asked quietly, trying to come to terms with the news.

"Yes, she is." Orion slowly raised himself, yet didn't want to alarm the human anymore then it already was. So he waited for a signal that it was fine for him to stand without worry about being shot.

This permission came from the human's outstretched hand, "Come on." Was all it said, accepting the hand, Orion rose to his feet, the metal clanking against the ground.

"I can't believe it... We called in help, but we don't even know if the mayday was received..." The human made a strange sound, Orion couldn't figure what it was. A growl? A groan? Or...

The human disconnected the helmet, it knew that it could breathe the atmosphere for a short time before being effected. The hissing of the cords came to Orion as a slight shock, it was almost like Gaia was here again, removing her helmet when she was alone with him.

He realized now that by removing her helmet, Gaia was more than just looking him in the optics... It was a sign of trust and respect. One that she was willing to breathe in poisonous oxygen just to show him she considered him a friend.  
This little thought made Orion smile slightly in remembrance, but now he saw the human's face who was holding a gun to his processor not long ago. Just like Gaia.

This human appeared different, yet similar. Instead of the strands from Gaia's helm, or hair as she called it, wasn't long and pulled behind her head, this human had shorter hair and it was almost golden.  
Orion had never seen the difference of gender in the human specie, but he assumed that due to this human's appearance and build, that this was a femme just like Gaia was.

"My name is Sarah Garner, I'm a bomb specialist on the Corsair, or _was_." The human offered their hand again in greeting, which Orion took happily. "Orion Pax, I am just a soldier."

"No such thing as _just _a soldier." The human smiled, Orion took note of the white... things in the human's mouth. Gaia had called them teeth once before. "Why did you follow me, Orion Pax?"

"I could see you were human and I remember what Gaia had told me." With a curious look, the human tilted its head. "What'd she tell you?"

"Humans fear aliens just as much as the aliens of this galaxy fear them." Orion replied casually, he found this to be Gaia's greatest shame. One she'd always speak with spite for herself, for aliens, and for her specie. It was not a light topic.

Sarah nodded, "It's... true really. I don't want to admit it, but aliens do creep me out." The human shivered, "Anyways, I have a bomb to place... If your Autobots are what you say they are, then tell them to move their asses. Things are about to catch fire."

Orion watched the human turn around and run to a pillar. Quickly, he contacted everyone he could.

"Kid? Where in the Pit are you?" Cup's voice grated over the commlink, "I am underneath the bridge the battle is taking place on, there is a human here who-" This caused some commotion, "A human?" Orion sighed, "Yes and she means to plant an explosive and destroy the bridge. Pull the front lines back!"

"Have you spoken to Prime?" Was Cup's reply. "No, I am contacting him now."

Cutting the comm to Cup off, Orion only hoped Prime understood the urgency of this situation. This human wasn't going to stop just because he said so. "Orion, Ironhide had told me you left the battle, what has happened?"

"No time to explain in detail, Prime. There is a human here who is planting explosives as we speak, she is going to destroy the bridge and unless we move the front lines back, the Autobot's will fall with it." Orion listened closely for Prime's reply, which took some time before reaching a consensus. He knew Prime would be speaking to Ironhide, Cup, Prowl, and the leaders of the other teams.

All he could do was hope Prime agreed with him.

"Hey, tinman." Sarah ran up to him, "This place is rigged to blow, we might wanna' get outta' dodge!" She insisted, grabbing onto Orion's arm and pulling him along with her.

"Orion." Came Prime's voice over the comm as he and Sarah raced to rejoin the others. "How long do we have?"

"Is the bomb on a timer, Sarah Garner?" Orion asked, the human pulled out a hand detonator. "Nope, once we're out of here, I'll hit it." Orion slowed down, "Then why are we running?"

"The sooner the better, I want to see those bastards go down." Sarah glared ahead, as if she was looking at a Decepticon in the face. Orion understood, he knew many of his allies had been held captive by the Decepticons and they always came back scarred.

Who knows what they did to this alien...

"Once we reach safety, the human will use a detonator." Orion answered Prime, who was relieved that the bomb wasn't timed. "We will move our forces back immediately. Ironhide will have the others cover you and this human when you arrive."

It wasn't long before they reached the street where the battle took place, only the Autobot's had already begun to move back, which left Orion and Sarah on the Decepticon's field.

They kept their heads low and went for cover, Sarah snapped her helmet back into place quickly and her rifle already firing at a Decepticon ahead of them. The shots hit their target and they got through the thick of the Decepticons before reaching their front lines, Decepticon's were everywhere, behind, in front, to their sides.

It was a bad place to be in.

"Tristan!" The human called out, "Hurry up, we're out of here!" She was calling to another human who was much larger than her and carried a significantly larger weapon as well.

This human shoved passed Decepticons and used a smaller weapon to fight of closer Decepticon's while Sarah and Orion covered his approach.

"Sarah, what the hell are you doing?" The human's clearly deeper voice was easy to distinguish from Sarah's. "This is Orion Pax, he's one of those Auto-whatever guys."

"And?" The human replied carelessly as the three tried desperately to keep Decepticons off their backs. "He knows Gaia." Sarah stated as if she knew from the second they met, she... trusted him? This easily?

The human was suspicious, but Sarah... Something about her. She seemed to believe him so quickly. Tristan, as Sarah called the other human, also seemed aware of this, being that for the next few moments he watched Orion closely from behind his visor and Orion could feel every last second the humans eyes were trained on him.

Almost like the human was hunting prey and Orion was unlucky enough to be that prey.

Then again, with all these Decepticon's around, they may not make it to the Autobot lines in time for Orion to find out why this large human seemed to loom over him.

Decepticon's began surrounding them and one by one, it became harder to see the Autobots ahead of them.

"Ironhide, we need support." Orion called to Ironhide over his commlink. "There are Decepticon's coming from all sides."

Just as he spoke, a Decepticon in front of them cried out in shock, sparks flew as Orion saw the hole in the Decepticons chest. When the body fell, Ironhide was on the other side with his cannons smoking. "Run!"

Orion, Sarah, and Tristan did just that. While Ironhide's cannons were firing at full force, throwing Decepticon's off the bridge, the three escaped through the front lines and united with the other Autobots.

Ironhide wasn't far behind, his cannons worn and overused. The lines covered Ironhide as he came back to escort the three back into base.

"Go, now! They'll take care of the 'Con's." Ironhide pushed them ahead, occasionally firing behind him to ward off any Decepticons. By the time any shots could actually be directed to them, they entered the tower and were met with many a shocked Autobots.

Prime was among them, but less surprised to see another human or two, after their encounter with Gaia and the deceased human Gaia claimed as one of her crew members.

"Tell your boys to hightail it! I'm ready to blow that tower." Sarah stopped dead in front of Sentinel, who remained stoic to their arrival. "The Autobots are retreating now, the Decepticon's believe that they are winning and are not hesitation to push their line forward."

"Good, the more of 'em on the bridge, the more of 'em die." She smirked, her finger barely gliding over the detonator button. "I want ta' watch those bastards burn."

Sarah and Tristan were at the entrance to the tower, witnessing the Autobots' falling back and the Autobots who were back inside the tower base all stared with wide blue optics at these two humans. Gaia was a shock enough, an alien in their war? Now two more appeared without warning, it wasn't something one heard of every day.

Once Orion saw Ironhide covering the Autobots retreat, he knew that everyone was a safe enough distance from the blast. "Prime, they are well within acceptable bounds. The Decepticons are closing in fast, we must act now." Ironhide came right next to him, still firing off his cannons like the 'Con's were right beside him.

"We're gonna' have a little talk later, Pax." Ironhide growled, making Orion flinch. That trigger-happy mech never had one of his '_talks_' without a few dents.

"You guys ready? 'Cause this thing is gonna' be big." Sarah held up the detonator.

Prime stood by, listening as Prowl gave the word. "Our front lines are pulled back, any more and we would reach Iacon. Primus, let that thing be right." Prime nodded to Sarah, giving her the green light.

With a wicked grin, Sarah pushed the button and all they heard was a loud bang and the groans of a very old tower as it leaned over, its final support blown.

The Autobots looked on in wonder, the explosion nearly blasted the tower in two, the light and power of the bomb forced them to stumble as the tower came crashing down onto the street below.

Decepticons fled, those who could flew away safely back to their side, others were able to make it by speeding away or dodging into another tower. The rest, or the majority, were not so lucky.

The tower fell right on them, destroying their entire force and they promptly retreated, abandoning the battlefield. With the only way across a seven day journey for their infantry, the Autobots were safe for now. Choosing to ignore any leftover Decepticons as they ran away.

After the dust settled and the tower was beyond the warm glow of Cybertron, the Autobots cheered for their victory. For the humans that made it possible.

Orion felt a great weight lifted, this battle, Iacon, the Council, and the decision to harbor Gaia all rested on this battle and each choice proved worth it. He may never have survived the battle if he wasn't able to recognize a human from a Cybertronian. He smiled brightly, a feeling of satisfaction washed over him.

Everything he had done to this point had been right.

"Orion." That voice was unmistakable, even in the very loud celebrations his fellows were having, he could still pick out Sentinel's voice. "Yes, Prime?"

Sentinel stepped beside him, overlooking the Autobots' joy and watched them thank the humans who blew the tower to win the battle. "It seems you may have been correct about the human, Mercurio."

Orion thought back, he remembered he had not told Sentinel about Gaia, their meeting, and that he knew what and who she was all along... These memories flooded back, he hated thinking about it, but he told Gaia he would not tell Sentinel. Was this comment about him trying to tell Sentinel about Gaia or was it just about Sarah?...

"About what, Prime?"

"Gaia. Humans... Possibly." Prime's optics narrowed in thought, a little shocked when he saw Sarah becoming friendly with the Autobots by wrapping her arms around them, pressing her mouth against a few of their faceplates (an action he hadn't a clue what it meant) and keeping herself close to her human comrade, Tristan.

Orion saw this too and remembered a few things Gaia told him. The humans were emotional, very much so. He remembered thinking that not knowing what their own emotions were at all times must be frustrating and very difficult to control. It was unlike a Cybertronian, he knew when he was angry, sad, or indifferent. "I... do not understand Prime."

"I told you that you did not know Mercurio well, that her intentions were unclear and possibly hostile." Prime shifted, "That is true... Yet I should have taken your word for what it is worth. You are and have always been a good soldier, honest, hardworking, and never failed me before. Perhaps I could have seen passed my duties and realized what that meant... She may have been here with us still."

Orion turned to his leader, unable to form a reply immediately. Was Sentinel... apologizing?

"Prime, I-" He sighed, shaking his head in distress. Instead of the usual formal address, Orion decided to say something Gaia would. "It does not matter now. The past is the past and we all make different decisions based on our opinions and beliefs. Your decision to remove Gaia from the Autobots was no more a mistake then mine to..."

Prime glanced down to Orion thoughtfully. This young mech was wiser than half the High Council... but what was he trying to say? "Orion?"

He nodded, "... No more a mistake then my decision to keep the truth from you."

This was not amusing, this was not celebratory... Or forgiveness, regret. What was this? Prime faced Orion with a face no one could read.

"Before Gaia left, before Ratchet and Wheeljack removed her armor... I was trying to convince you not to let them by explaining what I knew to be true without compromising myself or Gaia, and by doing so I only spoke in half truths." Orion cooled down his processor, his spark felt like it was ready to burst from his chestplates. "I knew Gaia was human, an alien, the entire time. From the moment I met her, I knew. She told me, showed me, and explained to me her people. I know what a human is, what their homeplanet is named, and their most recent technological discoveries."

Prime faced Orion who felt particularly small right now. He still wasn't certain he should've told Sentinel or if he should've told him a long time ago, that wasn't his to know.

"I apologize Prime, I do not know if this would have changed anything. Gaia told me that it did not matter, that she would have to leave regardless of what I said..." Orion sighed, his vents groaned audibly. "She said that... she was going down anyways, that I need not go with her."

Sentinel didn't seem able to respond. His own opinions on the matter now were blurred. Orion is one of his most trusted soldiers and a good friend when needed. Should he scold Orion for keeping the truth hidden or was this actually the right thing to do?

He looked to Sarah and Tristan, two humans getting along perfectly with the Autobots and the Autobots did not seem to care about what they were. The humans didn't appear hostile or spiteful to the Autobots, even after being in the company of Decepticons... He'd have to ask about that later, how they ended up with the Decepticons. Experience told him that they were forced to fight on the Decepticons' side, he knew how the 'Con's treated their prisoners.

For one second, Sentinel doubted himself. He could recall one time in the last century a soldier made him question himself, about his decisions or ideals...

That same time it was Orion who made him do so.

Orion grew concerned; Sentinel hadn't said a word back to him. Nothing. Was he angered by Orion's secrecy?... Would Orion's knowledge of humanity actually have had an effect on Gaia's sentence?

"You are right."

He believed his audio receptors glitched. Did Sentinel just-?

Prime rested a hand on Orion's shoulder. "Perhaps I should have seen this before, when you tried to defend Mercurio." The large mech shook his head slightly, in deep thought about what transpired. "... And maybe I could have seen Mercurio for whom she really is, rather then what I feared her to be."

"Prime-" Orion started, but he was stopped by Sentinel. "I know what you will say, that it does not matter anymore, yet after all that has happened. Mercurio's bravery, her actions, and my best soldier vouching for her... She should be here."

Orion stared at Sentinel openly. It wasn't often that the Autobot leader, the only Prime today, would apologize. Yet here he was, in his own words, telling Orion that he was wrong.

"I do not know what to say Prime other than... I accept." Sentinel turned back to the Autobots who were finally calming back down, the two humans now receiving a lot of attention.

"Whoa whoa, relax fella's." Sarah laughed, "We're here, we're alive and best of all, we found our Captain." Tristan and Sarah nodded to each other, his arm over her shoulder and her arm around his waist. "So, Tinman, where is that hardass? I still can't believe she survived that fall!"

Tristan chuckled, "GG, this is the Cap you're talking about. I bet she got back up and didn't feel a thing."

The two laughed, enjoying their victory and escape from the Decepticons. It was, or would've been, a very meaningful event for them had Orion not had to tell them that Gaia was no longer with them.

"She is not here anymore." Orion only had time to tell Sarah that Gaia was with them, not where she was now.

It was as clear as black and white. Sarah and Tristan came from being joyful and celebratory to dead serious. Smiles faded into unreadable expressions, Orion could only guess they were extremely unhappy.

"What do you mean?" Sarah's eyes narrowed, as if she expected Orion to tell her that Gaia was dead or... worse.

"I mean that yesterday we parted ways. After an incident with her helmet malfunctioning, our Medic attended to her and while she ended up being healthy... She left shortly thereafter." It felt like admittance, but all Orion was doing was telling the truth. He made no faults, this wasn't abandonment or death. Just a misunderstanding.

"I... I don't understand." Tristan stepped forward, "If she got hurt... a helmet malfunction? Never heard of that, but I guess it could happen..." He ran a hand around his neck. "Okay, so if she's alive, then where is she?"

"She returned to the Corsair Escion." Orion told them, it was a good thing... wasn't it? The look on Sarah and Tristan's faces told him otherwise.

"Wait. Hold up." Sarah seemed disturbed, like something bad just happened... "She left to the Corsair? What the hell Tinman!" She was shocked, both of the humans reaction to this news was upsetting.

"What do you mean? She was alive and well when she left, she should have arrived at the crash site within the last few hours at the latest." Orion and Sentinel both shared a worried look.

Sarah sighed, "That entire area is crawling with Scavengers and not your ordinary run-of-the-mill Scavenger who's out picking up bits and pieces. No, an enforcers, pack leaders, those bastards are just hanging around the Corsair!"

He remembered their talk about Scavengers, mostly just people who cling to the remnants of broken tools and crashed ships, old useless parts. Some were dangerous and even fewer proved formidable.

"Gaia told me about them before, would she not find a way around? Or be able to fend for herself, she is a very strong femme." He countered, trying to figure out what was the problem.

"Not when there's about fifty of them heavily armed with military grade weaponry!" Tristan put his hands on Sarah's shoulders and held onto her tightly. "What Sarah means is that... No one can fight off that many people with that level of guns and ammunition. The people who shot us down couldn't just be anyone, a Corsair is built to take some of the most powerful heavy weapons in existence. To take down a Corsair in the time they did it... They're something else, not a hunter or a scavenger. These people are extremely dangerous, we don't know who they are or what they want, but they have the firepower to assault one of our toughest ships."

Orion's optics went dim. Did he really just send Gaia off to her death? The Scavengers, could they be and deadly as they claim?... He blamed himself primarily, he should've kept her closer, should've forced Sentinel to let her stay. Something, anything, just to keep her with them and away from this threat.

How could he have known? He knew more than any Cybertronian knew about humans, but that wasn't saying much. He knew trivial things, facts that the human sparklings know. What could he do? Where was the point when all of this could've gone for the better? When could he have helped Gaia?

"Sarah, I am very sorry." Orion struggled for the right words, "I do not know what to say, I had no idea what was waiting for her."

Sentinel pulled Orion back. "It is my fault. Her safety became my responsibility after we discovered her as an alien."

"Discovered her?" Tristan queried. "What do you mean _discovered_?"

"He means that Gaia and I kept her a secret from the Autobots." Orion had to speak up, had to tell them. They deserved to know, everything. "When we met, I had no idea what or who she was. She told me about Earth and humanity, let me see her and prove to me what she said was true. I cannot say assuredly that every word was the truth, yet I do trust in her."

Sentinel hadn't heard this part, he wanted to know as well.

"We had both realized that telling the Autobots about her could very possibly be a mistake. So instead of telling them the truth, we held onto half-truths and lied to everyone that she was a fellow Cybertronian who had not been a part of the war." He shrugged, they made it rather far considering. "Over time it became harder and harder to hide this truth and eventually, the truth was revealed and because of the questions surrounding a new alien specie and the war we are a part of, it had been decided as too much of a risk."

Orion never saw Gaia mad, in fact the rare moments when he did see her face she was smiling, or eating something. Anger was not an emotion he saw on a human's face, but thanks to Sarah, he now knew what it looked like.

Her jaw tightened and her glare could cut through the thickest metals, she clenched her fists and snarled wildly. This human was beyond pissed.

"You did _what?!_" Sarah yelled, attracting the attention of all the Autobots around. Even Sentinel was a little surprised at the outburst, this humans' voice was so loud and high pitched that it sounded like two pieces of metal scraping against each other.

"It was a hard decision, Gaia understood the reasoning-" Sarah shook her hands in between them. "I don't care what she _understood_ Tincan! Cap always does this, how could you let her go like that?!"

Tristan grabbed Sarah, stepped in between Orion, Sentinel and Sarah. "Hold your horses there! If Gaia was okay with it, then we got nothin' to say. Simmer down, GG." He faced her, "Cap knows what she's doing. We'll find her."

"We know where she is going, the exact path she took even." Orion spoke up, though trying to avoid the enraged human femme.

"That's a start, all we have to do now is get to her. Hopefully before the Scavengers." He groaned, growing tired quickly. "First thing's first. I got shot and I'll need your help to disinfect and wrap the wound, GG."

The femme nodded, "I almost forgot." She calmed herself, able to see clearly Tristan favoring his side. "Yeah... Yeah, let's go take care of you."

"We have an infirmary you can use." Orion stated, only to have Sarah whip her head around to glare at him. Instead of commenting further, he just let the two walk away to deal with Tristan's injury.

He had to admit, while that femme wasn't as tall or large as Gaia, she was quite fierce. He didn't dare talk to her without Tristan around, who knows what that femme would've done to him if Tristan wasn't there to quell her animosity.

"That is that Orion." Sentinel spoke, he chose not to interrupt Orion's conversation with the humans, afterall Orion knew more about humans then Sentinel. He didn't want to inadvertently offend one of the humans.

"I suppose. While they tend to one another, I will aid Ratchet with injured soldiers." He thought quietly about the humans and the chance of meeting them on the battlefield like that, doing menial labor would help clear his processor. "If you have need of me, I will be around."

Sentinel saw Orion off and was quickly greeted by his soldiers. It pleased him to see so many still standing, a few with minor dents and scratches. He was glad his people were safe for the time being.

* * *

While the Autobots' celebrated their victory, Gaia fared a worse fate.

Her wounds were deep and she lost count of the bones she knew were broken, pain seared throughout her entire body and she became blind to the last forms of torture they tested on her.

They weren't out of tricks yet and neither was Gaia.

She'd been tortured before, but these Scavengers were desperate and heeded no boundaries, her limitations were pushed beyond the edge, yet she held on. A week of this and she knew she would break, there wasn't a possible way any human would withstand pain for prolonged periods of time, no matter how much she resisted.

In the end, she would fail and the vault would be opened.

She couldn't let that happen, if they ascertained the sensitive information locked away in that tank of a vault, Earth's guardians would be at risk. No longer would the legendary defenses hold.

Granted, the information was just that, words and details about ships and formations, commanders and captains, events and holidays. Gaia had read what was in the vault before, regardless if the information got out, someone would have to own a large army to get through...

But she knew as well as anyone all it took was one tactical genius with a lot of money and he or she could buy themselves an army.

These Scavengers weren't the problem, they didn't live on Earth and bore no ill will against it nor the people born on it, but they also did not care for it. This indifference made them dangerous given the opportunity. If their enemies got a hold of even a piece of what was in that vault, all hell would break loose.

Humans made some mistakes, but they never would go so far as to attempt to wipe out an entire specie. Unfortunately, there are two species Gaia knew personally that would sacrifice everything just to watch Earth burn.

Her senses began to return, she was awaking from the previous round of torture. It took a moment, but she forced herself awake, dragging herself out of a pain induced unconsciousness.

While every inch of her ached and screamed in protest, she realized they had not strapped her down. Her feet were free and her hands could move again.

It was now or never.

She couldn't fight them off, she couldn't escape, but there was someone who could.

No one was in the room, she heard no footsteps or any movement at all. It was quiet inside, the only sounds were of the Scavengers outside the ship. They clearly didn't like to stay in the ship, it mustn't be safe. Crashing to a giant metropolis that holds itself up? The Corsair smashed a dozen streets and broke through many towers only to reach a stop here.

Enough weight or damage and the ship would shatter or the street beneath it would.

Unsafe. Hopefully, that meant their leader was no longer on the ship. No guards either, it seemed they didn't think she'd get up or try to escape at all.

Good, they weren't experienced with this whole 'keeping-a-prisoner' thing.

It hurt to breathe, it hurt to move, but Gaia had to stand up. She had to, do it or die. She repeated these things in her head, telling her she _had _to get up. Now. Right this second or everything would be ruined.

_Get up._

She ground her teeth together, it hurt but it distracted her from the real pain.

Her leg was broken, left leg was the worst. She would bet that her left femur was shattered completely, she had no control over that leg anymore. She'd have to improvise.

Using the chair she was strapped to before and what little bit of her strength she retained, Gaia slowly and painfully began to rise off the chair.

Her arms shook with the stress, she felt like she was trying to lift the vault itself. She felt so heavy, her body was weighing itself down and making every movement all the more difficult.

Looking back down to the chair, she caught sight of one of the old leather straps that tied her hand before. It was loose and hanging on the arm of the chair.

She took it, folding it until it was just the right thickness, then firmly bit onto it.

Readying herself, she began to rock slowly, snapping herself back before throwing her entire body forward and lifting herself out of the chair. It was successful, but she had to rest half her weight on the chair to stay upright.

Damn leg was useless, it could support a single pound before buckling completely.

Instead of trying to walk, Gaia braced herself for impact. The vault wasn't but a few steps away from her, she wouldn't miss her chance.

Throwing herself forward, like she did when rising out of the chair, she made a few feet before falling on her side. The contact made her body scream in pain, she bit harder onto the leather and ground into it. She could taste fresh blood in her mouth, it made her try all the more knowing she hadn't much time before she succumbed to her wounds again.

The vault was within her reach, she held onto the heavy metal bars that it was encased in. If she was right, then a very unique member of the crew was locked away inside.

It was the only way to make sure these Scavengers never see the inside of the vault.

She had to open it.

First, the rudimentary confirmations of identity. Fingerprints, retina scan. Easy, the vault accepted that information. After that was done, a code began to load on the screen. A massive encrypted file that was gibberish to anyone looking at it. She began cracking the sequence. The Algorithm was fluid, she did this a hundred times before.

By now, she knew how the codes were made and after the fifth code had been entered, the vault cracked itself open and welcomed her inside.

Thankfully, the seal had been broken already due to the crash. The vault was built to survive the worst, but even it took a few bad hits. The Scavengers couldn't cut the metal, the only way in was to had the access codes that automatically changed every day. So long as a certain A.I. was still online.

She had to act fast, it took a good twenty minutes just opening the vault.

Inside was pristine, like it had never been opened before. Gaia was relieved to see no damage to the internal files, she knew they were made for dire situations, but she had her concerns.

"Captain." A familiar A.I. stood from the back of the vault. "The Corsair Escion crashed, am I to assume the crew survived?"

"No, they didn't Hwe Kwan. I'm afraid I'm the only survivor." Gaia sighed, "You need to escape here and find the Autobots, they are aliens native to this planet. They will not harm you, just tell them who sent you."

"I see." Hye Kwan was an A.I. and she easily deducted the situation. "Then you are a prisoner of war. Should we not both escape?"

"No, I need them to believe I never opened the vault and that no one is coming to get it." She heard noises from outside, people talking loudly. "You need to go. Now."

"Where are these Autobots?" She questioned, stepping out of the vault.

"A days' walk." She remembered the map, if Hye Kwan ran she could get there in half the time. She was rather fast and light on her feet. "Go West South West from here, just keep going. You'll reach them eventually."

Hye Kwan nodded. "And what is my mission?"

"Reach the Autobots and find a way to contact the military. Tell them about the crash and the Scavengers, let them decide from there." Gaia gestured to the vault door, letting Hye Kwan close it.

"Reset the codes as often as you can, we can't risk me telling them how to get in. I'm only human." She grinned toothily. "Now go, be fast. You have some catching up to do."

With a sure nod, Hye Kwan aided Gaia back to the chair she was in before and left the room, using the vents to reach the outside of the Corsair. It was broken and had giant holes everywhere, getting out wasn't a problem for the fast thinking A.I.

She left Gaia there and proceeded out of the area.

Gaia sat in her chair happily. No matter what, these Scavengers would never get the information they're looking for now. She just had to hold out until this was all over with.

She wondered if they'd have her funeral in her hometown or at one of the military graveyards.


	20. Hye Kwon Arrives

**_The Next Life_**

_By Kaimaler_

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_**Okay, we're moving up. **Getting more regular updates, all that jazz. :D_

_Anyways, nothing exciting here. Only that I'm hanging around on a site called **Neopets** again. I was on that site over seven years ago and loved it then, it's changed quite a bit, but I still enjoy it. :D_

_If you have an account there, just search me: _**yngsildr**

_I'm on very often. :3_

_Eh, otherwise, not much else around. :O_

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_**Review Replies!**  
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_**Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar Crystal:**_

_I have indeed returned. :3_

_Yeah, a lot of readers have been asking about it and mentioning that I should or it would be interesting. I also realized for the future interaction between humanity and cybertronians that it would be a fantastic front. The first of the two species to meet build a relationship bypassing that they are both aliens and, in both cultures, is of the utmost trust.  
A cybertronian doesn't follow the same rules of engagement as we do, they are more strict and, judging by the information the creators of this universe tells us, are far more dependent on one another.  
While a human is more flighty, they can marry and enter in this partnership that is supposed to last a lifetime. However, many do not last, not because of a death or whatnot, but because of our freewill to do as we please. Given the choice, many married couples would divorce after spending years with their significant other._

_Just how humans are. :/_

_So sharing this bond of trust is beyond words, especially between these two species. Each one putting so much faith in the other to live happily. So allowing Orion and Gaia to begin this relationship is not only just for fun, but because it can change the future events of human-cybertronian interactions._

_I hope the kids are doing well! And guess what! My brother's wife is pregnant! They think it's a little girl, but the fetus is too young to tell right now. :3_

_**Horser01:**  
_

_Yeah, I was gone for a long while, huh? :3_

_Sorry 'bout that! :/_

_I believe I had mentioned that there will be a sequel already. It'll focus on the future of humans and cybertronians. Mainly humans getting through their hidden fears of alien life and cybertronians overcoming the Decepticons to prove themselves unlike their evil brethren. :D_

_Well, it's not exactly Orion's perspective either. I'm still keeping it third-person so sayings and whatnot only really change depending on the specie of the person we're following. Would Orion know what sweat is? Nah, 'course not! But this isn't only Orion we're following, it's a perspective designed to open the reader into the mind and workings of a cybertronian (or fellow human) without losing the sense of familiarity and comfort._

_I can't tell you how many times I've had to correct myself from typing out "_dead" _and using instead "_offline" _or "_recharge_" instead of "_sleep_._" _Things like that! It's difficult to keep up and odd, but it helps the undoubtedly human reader from mixing up reading about a cybertronian from a human. Just trying to make sure the two aren't too similar in speech and process._

_However, idioms and the such are still used so the reader can understand a situation or be able to read it without confusion._

_The other way to write that in a more cybertronian way is:  
_

_"_running through the ruined tower without overheating their core." _or _"running through the collapsing tower while avoiding using backup support."

_But that's not as fun to read or even spending the time trying to figure out what it was substituting for. :D_

_**Noella50881:**  
_

_Yeah, originally I wanted Gaia to escape with Kwon, but I realized if Gaia is as good a captain as she claims, would she really risk it?  
I mean, she would have to assume she would die anyways, but stalling the enemy is actually a better choice. Certainly not an easy one, anyone would want to escape. It had to be done though.  
_

_Unfortunately, I realized that keeping Gaia there so she could watch the Vault until reinforcements arrive was ultimately the only choice._

_I mean, if you were going to die no matter what and were responsible for something that could spark World War III and you were the only person able to keep it safe, but you had to endure pain in order to save what could be decades of a terrible war that would kill millions, would you do it? If you faced death regardless of whatever happened and the one thing you were trusted with which is possibly the most valuable piece of information in the universe was at risk of falling into the wrong hands, would you endure a torture to save millions of lives?_

_It's not an easy choice, definitely not something someone can just _say_ they would do, the situation is unique and terrifying. A one in about six billion chance of ever even MAYBE happening, but still.  
Just one of those character builders, especially for Gaia. Who is a strong human being and chose to ensure the safety of the Vault, all the while suffering a cruel end._

_That's my brain on _"deep thinking" _mode. :3_

_**Rockubyebaby:  
**Yer, it's here! And here's another chapter. Longer then the last one too! :D  
_

_8,331 words of awesomeness. x3_

_I hope you enjoy it! And I have to thank you profusely for sticking around, even after such a long hiatus! So kudos to you! Thanks for making returning to write this story worth while!_

_**Anonymous Reviewer:**  
_

_If you are reading this, awesome!  
I don't get a lot of anonymous reviews, but I don't care! So long as it's feedback, I love it! :D_

_Here's your requested update, all ready for reading. x3_

* * *

Orion stood next to Sarah as she tended to Tristan's wound. He couldn't help but note the differences so far.

The male human almost appeared denser, like there was more... human internal-wiring then there was on Gaia. He hadn't a clue what it meant, in fact, there was so much about all this he couldn't wrap his processor around.

Like the Scavengers that shot them down. Gaia said they were nothing more then just some scum who lived lawlessly, murder, stealing, anything went for them so long as they could survive it. Still, all this about the Scavengers and about these humans didn't make sense to him, it was fiction in his optics. Yet here they were, two humans in front of him, his friend who was also human now very likely in the hands of this _scum._

He sorely wished it wasn't true, he begged Primus that what they've been saying is mere theory and conjecture. Nothing with any actual proof to tell him otherwise.

Unfortunately, these humans were the only beings here that knew about Scavengers and were there when the Corsair went down.

Speaking of the crash...

"How did you survive?" Orion asked, watching as Sarah dabbed away this red substance and the blackened parts of his _skin,_ as Gaia had called it.

"Excuse me?" Sarah asked, barely even glancing away as she cleaned Tristan's wound.

He figured she wanted clarification. "What I mean to say is how did you survive the crash? The Corsair was shot down outside Cybertron's atmosphere; surely that crash would have killed you."

"Wishing I was dead, Tinman?" She chuckled, Orion instantly jumped in. "What? No, I meant no such thing-" She waved him to calm down. "Relax, I know what you meant. I was just having fun."

Humans had a strange sense of fun.

"We took shelter in the Vault." It was a grim reply, almost as if she disliked her own answer.

"Gaia spoke of the Vault within the Corsair once before, it holds information of some great importance, correct?" Orion didn't see how a storage system could protect them so well.

"Yeah, the damn thing is built better than all the ships today. It's supposed to hold secret codes and various things inside. I wouldn't know really, the only time I saw the inside of it was when we took shelter inside it, but even then, I didn't take the time out of my busy _schedule_ to read through the documents inside it." She rolled her eyes, they were fighting for their lives, of course she wouldn't know what was inside.

"If it saved you from the crash, how come there are not more survivors?" He was practically leering over their medical procedure; it was so alien and interesting. How Sarah began to weave a thin line through Tristan's skin, it seemed painful; he would wince every time the needle pierced his skin.

Sarah sighed, taking a momentary breath before continuing.

"There was." Tristan answered, twitching as Sarah stitched him up.

"We woke up and the door to the Vault was opened. When we got outside, the crew was already trying to gain ground. Understand the area, get a feel for the terrain, see if there are any signs of life. That sort." Tristan nor Sarah seemed very happy with their survival.

"First, the Scavengers came." Sarah patted Tristan's bare shoulder. "Killed about three or four of the crew."

Sarah cut the line from the needle and seemed pleased with her work. "Those who were left ran. There was around five left, including us."

"Yeah, we managed to get out of the Scavengers way, left sight of the Corsair and all that, but they kept trying to hunt us down." Tristan recalled certain events unfolding before him, the Scavengers spared no one. "One died, a man named Jory. He was a medical assistant. We tried to help him, but he was in a state of shock. Just wouldn't respond to us."

"After that, we escaped them. We thought we were in the clear, just so happened that those big bad jackasses found us." Orion stared openly, as if in question. "The Decepticons, Tinman. One of theirs spotted us and returned in force."

"While those guys were trying to grab us, one of the others kept running and running. We tried to stop him too, but he refused to listen. Saying that those were aliens, how they'd kill us all." He huffed, "I figure he's dead now too."

"Was his name, by any chance, Klaus?" Orion tested, he remembered... _seeing_ Klaus and what the sight did to Gaia. Her reaction was downright sparkshattering. He never felt any worse for Gaia then he did when she saw a former crew member dead on the ground before her.

Tristan and Sarah both turned to him, shocked. "Yeah, how'd you know that? Did he make it?" Sarah was a little excited, but she was getting ahead of herself.

"No, we found Klaus offlined on our way here. Gaia saw him and had not spoken a word about it, she told me his name and rank, nothing else." Orion hated being the bearer of bad news. It wasn't a job he wanted.

"Oh, well..." Sarah mentally smacked herself; she hoped that quick bastard escaped. Turns out there was no escaping the 'Cons. "What happened?"

"I do not know how he was offlined, all I know is that the body we saw no longer retained the shape and form of a human." The body seemed more like a building that had its shell torn off.

With a revolted sound, Sarah and Tristan both were a little more than disturbed by this. "I didn't need to how what he... looked like, I just asked if you knew how he did... God, that's just... _wrong_." Sarah had a very confusing expression, somewhere between sadness and disgust.

Orion didn't know what he did _wrong_, only that neither of them liked hearing about Gaia heading to the Corsair.

"Earlier, when I spoke about Gaia leaving for the Corsair the news seemed to upset you. May I ask why?" Orion was far too distracted by Sarah repairing Tristan. She was now wrapping his shoulder and torso with a white band before securing it with these small thin straps.

"Like we said, the Corsair's crash site is teeming with Scavengers. The ones that shot us down no doubt." She groaned, "If Gaia went there... if she's there now..." Sarah trailed off and seemed to lean on Tristan.

"She means to say that if the Cap reached the crash site already, she's most likely dead. Scavengers are merciless, they'll kill anything that poses a threat."

Orion's optics nearly shorted, Gaia... offline?

"This is all my fault." He collapsed onto a chair, "I cannot believe that Gaia would... that she is..."

"Hey, Tinman. What's got you so down? Not like you were part of the crew." Sarah stood next to Orion, resting a consoling hand on his shoulder.

"True, yet Gaia and I were fast friends." He felt everything he had done was only postponing Gaia's death... Perhaps her survival this far was actually a slower, more painful death? "We told each other about our people and ourselves. You can ask any Autobot here, we were inseparable. We always remained nearby each other and refused to be without some form of connection. Some way to call upon the other if need be."

"Cap always had a way with people." Tristan sat up straight, stretching to get used to the wrap around him. "I swear that woman could convince a lion to play dead."

Sarah giggled, "Yeah, she preferred to be close to someone. That someone used to be Vic." The two became quiet, as if they had just lost another friend.

"Who is Vic?" Orion asked, his curiosity piqued again.

"Vic, er, Victor is... _was_ Gaia's husband. They were married for years, used to fight all the time, but those two loved each other to death." Sarah smiled sadly, "He didn't get in the Vault with us."

He remembered Gaia mentioning her sparkmate, that he had most likely perished in the crash. Cybertronians often fail to survive the loss of their sparkmates, but humans proved different in this situation. Instead, Gaia must be in anguish over the offlining of her sparkmate and now has to suffer moving on without him.

Nothing, to him anyways, compared to the pain a mech or femme experiences when their sparkmate offlines. He's seen it a few times in the past, very few times, most just slipped away while in recharge or just turned off. The ones that continued on... those were the worst. How can an entire alien species be able to live through that and accept it as normal?

"She carries an item with her that commemorates their unity." Orion stated, "I have seen it a few times, it is very small and fragile. She said it was all that is left of him."

"I bet that's her wedding band. A little golden ring with a clear stone on one side?" Sarah asked, receiving a sure nod from Orion. "Yeah, that's a wedding band. Humans that are getting married give one to their partner during the wedding and they each wear the rings given to them until such time as they either divorce or the other dies."

"Gaia also mentioned this... divorce. I do not understand it, there is nothing like it for us." He sighed, shaking his head. He was trying to keep his processor from thinking about her.

"Eh, it's just one of those things." Sarah came around to Tristan and sat next to him; he wrapped his good arm around her shoulders and brought her close.

"Tinman, where would we go to get some shut eye around here?" Looking up from the floor, Orion saw their faces, decidedly alien faces that were obviously tired from everything that has happened.

"To the bunks. This way." He stood and lead the way out of the main room where the other Autobots had seen them talking and watched as Sarah patched up Tristan, but didn't get close enough to really hear them talk nor did they care to. Aliens were aliens and regardless of their actions during the battle, the two humans were still strangers to them.

The door slid open, revealing a moderately sized room, the only light coming from the balcony on the opposite side. The berths were on the left, it was a large metal bed with nothing to combat the cold of the metal.

"Huh." Sarah looked a little displeased with the room, but it was all they had. In this circumstance, Sarah was just glad they didn't have Decepticon's hoarding around them, taking bets on who'd kill them first.

She shivered, it was cold, but better than nothing.

"There is not much else we have, it is the best we can provide." Orion wanted to give them the comfort and recharge they deserved. Surviving inside Decepticon lines and a crash of that magnitude? He wished he had something better to give them.

"It's fine, get some rest big man, I'm takin' first shift." Tristan nodded, he needed to sleep off the pain in his shoulder, sleep also helped it to heal faster.

"Shift?" Orion stood in the doorway, he didn't want to make them feel anymore uncomfortable.

"Yeah, since there's two of us and he's hurt I'm takin' a three hour shift, he's a one hour, and back to me again." She listed this off like she'd done it a thousand times.

"This is a safe place, the Autobots will not bring you harm."

Both humans shared a cautious look, before Sarah stood in front of Orion. "Listen, we have bad experience with the Decepticons and, if Gaia trusted you with all that information... then we feel a little better about being here... but... to honest, it feels like were trading one cell for another." She bared her teeth in a frown, "You gotta' understand that we don't think you're like 'em or anythin', but we don't _feel_ safe here."

"You do not trust us. Or myself." Orion hated that their first experience with a Cybertronian was not a good one, that they had to meet the Decepticon's first; it made his core burn. He couldn't stand the Decepticons having the largest impact on the humans' idea of the Cybertronians. "I understand completely. I do apologize that the Decepticons found you first instead of us."

"I'm sure things would be different." She gave a considerate smile, but she didn't believe it. Sarah cared about others, but she wasn't about to risk it. "When we get up, we'll leave for the Corsair first thing. We won't bother anyone."

"It is not a problem at all. I assure you, by tomorrow, Prime may even offer aid." He smiled, he knew Sentinel well enough to see when the large mech was reconsidering something and when they spoke earlier, he knew exactly what Sentinel was thinking.

"That'd be really cool." Sarah saw him out after that and all Orion wanted to do was go into a deep recharge.

It had been a very, very long day.

* * *

Scavengers were near, she knew that. They couldn't keep up with her though, a mechanical body running at full speed who cannot feel the effects of exhaustion? No, they wouldn't catch up to her.

Instead, she spent her time running trying to calculate the direction and distance she needed to go.

Judging by the _days walk_ Gaia gave her, she should make it in nearly half the time as a human walking at a steady pace. She could go twice as fast as any human running at peak performance.

She continued attempts to contact any military vessel in her range, which unfortunately was not very far. She needed something to boost the signal, get a burst message out to anyone really. For that, she would need specific materials to strengthen her range so she could at least reach outside this solar system.

It was annoying to think that just right outside this system was a Guardian vessel floating around unable to hear their mayday.

With any luck though, the crew who escaped were able to reach their destination and inform the military about the attack and the situation of the Corsair.

Hye Kwon could barely hear the Scavengers behind her now, they were swearing off the chase, realizing they couldn't get to her.

She kept running down the only street available until she came upon a tower leading up above the faint golden glow of the planet's surface. Wherever the surface was anyways.

Slowing down to find a way up, she found the main entrance which had just enough room for her to slip though. Standing sideways, she squeezed herself through the thin opening, her synthetic coverings making it easier to get passed.

Once inside, she was careful about her steps, the building was unstable and enough force or weight could push it over its limitations. She was not keen on doing that.

Taking a reading of the room she was in and the area, she found the stairs leading up the tower. Like stepping on glass, she was able to identify and avoid weak spots in the flooring. After a short time spent dodging old worn metal, Kwon stopped at every floor, scanning it for either enemies or a way out. Most of the floors were empty and the exits were either blocked or destroyed.

However, one floor yielded an alarming discovery for her. The body of what appeared to be another A.I., but after running basic diagnostics, the metal and deceased being before her proved to be a form of organic-metal, the lack of anything human, hair, DNA, or even human design also told her this broken machine was not built by humans.

Strange, yet Gaia had mentioned the aliens known as Autobots, how she needed to reach them.

Assuming this was one of these aliens, Kwon quickly dismissed it and began to head up another few flight of stairs until she reached ten floors from the top and the last remaining street was connected to it, thankfully the exit was clear and the street was intact.

Leaving the ruined tower, Kwon began to bolt away from it. Her metal and synthetic soles making audible scratching noises as they brushed over the street beneath her. She ran as fast as she possibly could to minimize the time Gaia would spend under the bootheel of the Scavengers who would no doubt know about someone escaping them and go and _ask_ Gaia about it.

She didn't like leaving her captain behind, but she didn't have much of a choice. It was either this or risk discovery and the Scavengers would evacuate. If they could, they'd take the Vault too, but it takes a powerful ship to move it... They'd have a way, Kwon was certain. Even if they didn't, the danger these Scavengers pose is too great. If they could take down a legendary Corsair vessel, then they weren't playing with second-hand weaponry. These people were serious.

They needed to catch them, put an end to this before it got worse which, due to their display, it could very well be a matter of planet wide security.

"_-ad -n-ction-, fi-d so-way to -ost si-al." _Hye Kwon kept running, but that transmission was live. Someone had received their mayday.

"This is a secure channel. I am Hye Kwon, scout and extrinsic specialist stationed aboard the Corsair Escion. Our ship crashed on an unknown planet and is surrounded by illegal vessels. We request immediate assistance." She kept listening for a reply, hoping someone could understand her.

Her communications wire lit up, two transmissions at once. A little strange, but not unheard of.

"_Lo-ing con-c-on, can-t g- a-" _The message cut out, only static remained. Disappointed, Kwon checked in on the other transmission her radio caught.

At first it sounded like the same static that the previous message dissipated into, then she found patterns, speech patterns. This sound was actually some form of strange language, probably from the same alien species Gaia had mentioned.

She realized quickly that to this speech pattern was an answer, it sounded like an encrypted code almost. All she had to do was break it and for the next few hours while she ran to her destination, she did exactly that.

The signal grew stronger and clearer with every step she took, actively allowing her to pinpoint the origin much easier.

"_-vi-o-y -t t-e far b-id-e, st-ag-lers r-main in hi-ing. Noth-ng we can't ha-dle, Iro-hide._" The communication wasn't hard to crack, it wasn't actually encrypted, but the speech was similar to the sounds of muffled coded words, like the ones the military used, they didn't use it often, but the similarity was uncanny.  
Kwon was able to interpret the language better, but it wasn't perfect, like a small chunk of code was missing. Still, she could understand and while she saved her current knowledge, she was able to practice forming the words and sentences of this alien language

Her radio pointed her in the direction of the signal; she was heading straight for it.

* * *

Hours later, Prowl spotted a lone figure from behind their base, coming straight at their tower.

They were getting ready to leave the tower when he spotted the mysterious person. Instantly, Sentinel, Cup, Ironhide, Ratchet, and Orion were all watching as this stranger stopped right outside the entrance.

They could barely make out the small shadow of a person on the street. They were near the top of this tower, it was too far to see down onto the main level.

"I want Autobots to guard the stairs up, I do not want a surprise attack after the battle already ended." Sentinel ordered, keeping an eye on the figure as it entered the tower.

"Understood." Prowl sent out a mass alert for the stranger walking in. "Keep on the lookout; we do not know who this is or what they want. Just keep them busy until we get there."

Ironhide quickly went out to join his soldiers, Orion stayed with Sentinel and Cup. None of them had a clue who this person was or why they were here, only that it was only hours ago they defeated the Decepticons and put a stop to what could've been the last battle of this long war.

"What the-?" Sarah was outside the door, Ironhide had rushed passed her and many Autobots hurried to join him, flooding down the stairs as if the entire Deceptcion army was at their doorstep. "What's going on here?" She asked, making sure no one else was about to run into her.

"Someone has been seen entering the building. All Autobots that were sent here are accounted for, so this unidentified being could be a threat."

"Well, what're you going to do about it?" She glanced out the window out of curiosity. "We will be sending a few Autobots down to stop the unidentified person at the stairs, then we will send someone to speak to this person."

Sarah nodded, "Alright, well, me and Tristan will be hanging out of sight. No one here really has adjusted to us yet. If you need us, you know where to find us." Orion saw her out, she and Tristan hadn't said anything to anyone aside from him since they arrived. He assumed it was because they partially believed that Gaia had trusted him, at least somewhat.

For some reason, he didn't feel as bad for them. He didn't think their plight was any worse then what Gaia had suffered, but it was like they didn't even feel the effects of the crash. They seemed to ignore it completely and move on, they had already reached their peace with what happened and didn't want to deal with anything relating to it.

In fact, they seemed more disturbed by the news of Gaia going to the Corsair then the simple fact that Gaia may be in trouble with Scavengers.

Orion shook it off, it didn't matter, they went through a very painful experience, something that would possibly have killed them all and they survived. They'd only find comfort with each other, he would not put himself in a position to care for them like he did Gaia. They had each other, Gaia had no one, he already went down this road.

A call was sent out from Prowl to Prime and Ironhide. Orion only caught what Sentinel replied. "Escort her up."

"Prime?" Orion listened in, Sentinel only pointed outside of the room. "We have another visitor. Request that the two humans join us, from what Prowl reports, this femme is an unrecognizable Cybertronian."

His processor was practically spinning. Who could this possibly be? There weren't many femmes anymore; the Decepticons had seen to that, the only ones Orion could name were in Iacon under protection. Why would a femme be out this far? "Yes Prime."

Orion hurried off, Sarah was just with them, how far could she've gotten?

He guessed they'd stay in the same room they recharged in, it would only make sense. The Autobots were given orders to that unless instructed otherwise; the humans were not to be bothered. Part of a thank you from Prime and protection for the others.

"Sarah, Tristan!" He entered the room, surprising both the humans inside who were in a conversation with fellow Autobots Mirage and Hound. Two Autobots Gaia had only met briefly before.

"What-" Sarah blinked rapidly. "Uh, what's wrong Tinman?"

"Someone has arrived on base, Prowl reports that there is a unidentified Cybertronian and Sentinel Prime requests you both to see this visitor."

Instantly, Sarah and Tristan seemed more aware. "Why would he want us?... Could it be the Cap?" He asked hopefully, both of them really wanted to hear from Gaia.

"No, Prowl would have said if it was Gaia. However, the femme is not a recognizable form of Cybertronian and he wants to see if you have any information." The two locked on their helmets as fast as they could, "Lead the way."

The two Autobots decided to follow along as Orion lead them into a larger room where many Autobots had gathered. Shifting through the crowd, the group came to the center of the room where Sentinel was standing in wait for Prowl and Ironhide to bring up this stranger.

All the Autobots seemed particularly interested, yet acknowledged that Sentinel had to clear this person of any threat before asking questions. Orion noted when he first joined the Autobots that they were all very curious by nature, always wanting to discover things and find something to catch their attention. It was like watching sparklings.

Hound and Mirage waited with the rest of the crowd while Orion, Sarah and Tristan walked up to Sentinel.

"So, you got an unknown on your doorstep?" Sarah asked, looking to the entrance of the room like Sentinel was and tilted her head. "Yes, it seems that this stranger has found her way to us. I want to know if either of you have any insight to the identification of this _unknown_."

"_Her_?" Tristan stood beside Sarah, the two always very close to each other.

Sentinel gave a sure nod, "Prowl stated that this person is a femme and refused to speak with anyone aside from Orion."

Orion stared at Sentinel, he didn't know that part. How did this person know his designation though, she couldn't be an Autobot, Prowl would've said so. Could Gaia have told them? Would that mean she is alive? Or was it another Autobot?

"Before you ask anything else, we do not know beyond that. This femme was adamant about speaking directly to Orion, she did state that it would not matter if we are present only that it be Orion she spoke to." Sentinel understood the reasoning, he has enforced that when an Autobot is delivering a message for one reason or another couldn't be shared through commlinks, that they only speak with the chosen recipient. Under no circumstances should they tell anyone else.

So this was not an unusual request, however, it was strange how Prowl described this femme. Her form, as Sentinel heard it, was thin, like she wore no armor, and very sleek. At first thought Sentinel assumed another human, they had a very smooth appearance, but Prowl explained she was most definitely not human.

"Well, we're here if you need us." Tristan and Sarah stepped back, letting Sentinel and his Autobots handle it, this was their base after all.

Soon enough, Prowl entered the room and approached Sentinel. "She still has not spoken and cannot be human; I ran the scans Ratchet provided us and I detect none of the signals of a human."

"Understood, Prowl." Sentinel nodded, waiting for the other Autobots to arrive with the stranger in tow.

A few Autobots rounded the corner first; Ironhide was behind them with the femme next to him, his hand on her shoulder and his cannon primed and ready.

Once Ironhide stepped to Sentinel with the femme, he was about to introduce himself and his Autobots, if it weren't for Sarah jumping from her place and tackling the femme in a hug, quickly joined by Tristan who lifted the two up for a few seconds.

"Hye Kwon! How'd you get here?" Sarah was overjoyed, she held the femme's hands in hers and asked a dozen questions a second. "What happened? Why did you leave the Vault? Did the Scavengers get in? Are you damaged? How did you get here so fast?"

Tristan laughed, stopping Sarah. "Let her breathe for a moment, Sarah." The two were ecstatic to see her.

"You know this femme?" Sentinel seemed a little surprised, but he had a feeling they'd know her. The coincidence of a femme all the way out here, the appearance of which was quite alien. It just didn't seem like chance.

"Yeah, this is Hye Kwon, she's the A.I. stationed aboard the Corsair Escion." Sarah answered, barely even glancing to Sentinel, she just couldn't believe that Kwon was standing in front of her.

That made Orion think, he had heard that term before, from Gaia...

* * *

_"What did you mean about my 'memory banks' being damaged?" He crossed his hands, clasping them together in nervous excitement._

_Snapping out of herself, Gaia returned his question. "You're an A.I., humans created the first Artificial Intelligences known; it was only after years of research that we perfected the form and generated a new model, one you obviously are spawned from."_

_Orion's optics narrowed, his processor trying to clear up her reply. "We are native to Cybertron, our life is our spark, and no one can build a spark. It comes from our sparkling years." He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "I have not one record of humans here; no one has from what I know. Such a discovery would be archived, the Council would know, we would all know."_

_"Council?" Gaia scratched her cheek, "You mean... That's impossible. No machine can build itself, there has to be a creator; a human mind behind the creation."_

* * *

That's it! This was an A.I., this is what Gaia mistook him for when they first met!

"Correct me if I am wrong, you are an artificial intelligence built by humans?" Orion had to be sure, he didn't want to assume anything at this point.

Kwon looked to him, her eyes were a sharp silver. "That is correct."

Sentinel, on the other hand, was definitely shocked. Humans could build Cybertronians? Or could this _Hye Kwon_ be passed off as a Cybertronian? Prowl thought she was, but then again, they all thought Gaia was until recently.

"Humans constructed you? Orion, how did you know this?" The young mech had been the first out of all of them to even guess what Hye Kwon was.

"Gaia had told me what an A.I. was the moment we met, she thought we were A.I.'s until she realized we are an alien species to her." He answered simply, it was old news that he didn't want to discuss right now.

"He is right. Most likely any human to find you would assume you are an A.I. rather than alien, due to our similar appearance and that of other aliens. I am an A.I. constructed by humans, I first became aware ten years ago in Pyongyang, North Korea on Earth. I was immediately assigned to the Corsair Escion and I have served aboard the vessel my entire life."

"If you left the Vault, where's Gaia? Was she not there? Do you know where she is?" Sarah was practically pleaded for some kind of news on Gaia's whereabouts.

"She was there and instructed that I seek out the Autobots, specifically one named Orion Pax. That he is an ally worthy of our trust and would offer protection at least until I was able to get a message out to base concerning the Scavengers." Kwon seemed down at the mention of Gaia, like something had happened.

Sarah was sterner this time around. "Kwon, where is Gaia now?"

"The Captain chose to remain at the Corsair Escion."

Tristan and Sarah both were distressed at this news. "Why would she do that? What could've possessed her to stay there?"

"Gaia said that it would be best if the Scavengers never knew I had escaped so that once I did get a message out, that they would not be prepared for the arrival of military forces." Sentinel always understood Gaia's position, this was another common tactic among more desperate leaders. It was usually foolproof so long as the person delivering this message, in this case Hye Kwon, was able to reach their destination.

"No-no," Sarah shook her head, "I don't believe it, she wouldn't stay there! It's suicide!"

"If it would comfort you, I can playback the recording of this event so you can hear her orders yourself." Kwon wanted Gaia to come with her too, but in her condition and their situation, Gaia was right. It was the best way to ensure these Scavengers pay for their crimes and never touch the inside of the Vault.

"Actually, it would. A lot." Sarah faced Sentinel, "Is there somewhere private we can go?"

"Yes, however, I would prefer to bring some of my Autobots to see this as well." Tristan knew Sarah just did not want an alien in the room with her, but it was best to allow them to join. "Of course, just not too many, please." Sentinel agreed and quietly used his commlink to alert the Autobots he wanted in the room.

Orion was first choice, Ratchet, Prowl, Ironhide, Wheeljack, and Cup all followed Sentinel into another room smaller than the main area, but plenty of room to conduct this meeting.

Sarah and Tristan stood close to each other, Tristan holding her in a comforting manner. Orion was beside Sentinel and Ratchet, everyone very interested in this recording.

"I will ask that everyone remain quiet throughout this recording, in the future it may be used as a legal document for one purpose or another. Sarah and Tristan, do you acknowledge that viewing this recording does make you eligible as a witness if this recording is used in a court of law?" It was a legal matter, something programmed directly into Hye Kwon.

"We accept the terms." They both answered, Kwon nodded. "If it becomes too much for any reason, I will stop the recording." She was sympathetic with Sarah's state, she was an emotional woman.

Kwon's chest seemed to change from an opaque white to being translucent and what the Autobots could make out was a sophisticated system beneath, a small light flickered on and projected an image.

It was a white room, clearly the brightness of it was dulled by the grainy projection, but the image was clear. Inside this white room was a few stations for someone to come in and access information, they didn't know what the Vault was for or what it held, but its contents yielded heavy protection, that much was certain.

After a few seconds of seeing nothing but this white room, a large metal door began to open slowly. Numbers and words began appearing on the edges of the screen, it was data that Hye Kwon was receiving when the door was opened. All this information represented various things, her position, the size of the room she was in, the lock on the Vault door.

Then, as if by some twisted miracle, there stood Gaia at the door, leaning on it for support.

Sarah was obviously disturbed by Gaia's appearance.

From what Orion could make out, her armor was almost completely destroyed, there were scorch marks on its remnants, and _blood_, as Gaia called it, was just about on every inch of her.

Orion felt his spark being torn out of his chest plates. It was hard to see her like this, his friend, the one he tried so hard to look out for... was dying.

She looked horrible, if Kwon hadn't identified her as Gaia, it would be hard to recognize her... He felt like he had a virus, every last gear inside his chassis was aching to help her, save her from the pain she must be in.

"_Captain._" It was Hye Kwon's voice. The visual changed, it rose as if the camera was being lifted to eye level with Gaia. "_The Corsair Escion crashed, am I to assume the crew survived?_"

Gaia was having a hard time even standing up, she was leaning on the door for support. Her chest was heaving, Orion knew that meant she was breathing but it was difficult, and her leg was... wrong somehow. It just didn't look right.

"_No, they didn't Hye Kwan. I'm afraid I'm the only survivor._" She answered, she didn't even sound like herself. "_You need to escape here and find the Autobots, they are aliens native to this planet. They will not harm you, just tell them who sent you._"

"_I see_." The many numbers and calculations on the sides of the screens ran various charts. The only part of this Orion noticed was a section titled _POW Protocol,_ it listed off situations and some of them were highlighted, obviously done so by Hye Kwon. Three of the many options made Orion flinch, Sentinel took notice and tried to calm the mech by holding his shoulder.

_In case of Vault Emergency: Critical Failure; POW Protocol I._

_1.) Recruitment Requirements (sec. 4/25) clearly states that when recruited to the Corsair Escion, in the event of Vault Emergency, that all crew members must protect the Vault, regardless of risk factors._

_4.) If rescue/evac is not an option and enemy overwhelms the survivors, silence the current Corsiar Captain and A.I. programmed with Vault access._

_6.) As a last resort, when the Vault has been compromised and an enemy holds the Vault, a Guardian vessel will be given full permission to destroy the Vault and the surrounding area until all enemies and chances that sensitive Vault data was stolen have been completely eliminated. EVACUATE SURROUNDING AREA, ALL PERSONNEL IN THE AREA HAVE THIRTY MINUTES (00:30:00) UNTIL GUARDIAN COMMENCES WITH DEMOLITION._

Would they really do that? Would the humans kill their own like that?

Orion's fear grew, Gaia was still there, Kwon was here to alert human forces to their whereabouts, and if this _Vault Emergency _included those options as a possibility... Then would they kill Gaia just to protect this Vault of theirs?

"_Then you are a prisoner of war. Should we not both escape?_" Hye Kwon approached Gaia, being able to see her better through the grainy hologram provided Orion with an even worse pain. He couldn't name it, but he felt alone now. For some reason, it felt like no one else would understand, that him and Gaia shared a bond only they understood and seeing her in so much pain... He couldn't stand it. His hands balled into fists, he was devastated just seeing her in this condition.

Yet Hye Kwon offered a way out, an escape. Why wasn't Gaia here now then? Being cared for in the infirmary.

"_No, I need them to believe I never opened the vault and that no one is coming to get it_." Orion's spark nearly stopped.

Was she... sacrificing herself?

"_You need to go. Now._" He couldn't believe what he was hearing, Gaia was telling Kye Kwon to go without her. To _not_ save her from a painful end! He... knew why, he understood it like he knew Sentinel understood, but he didn't want to accept it. He hated knowing she did such a thing, giving so much just to keep that _Vault_ safe.

"_Where are these Autobots_?" Hye Kwon passed Gaia who was staring out of the room from what they could see. Something alerted her.

"_A days' walk_." It must be the path Prowl gave Gaia to take to the Corsair, it didn't take them so long to get to the battlegrounds, but Gaia would've been walking for hours before finding the Corsair. It's unfortunate that the Corsair had not brought rest like reaching the base did for the Autobots. "_Go West South West from here, just keep going. You'll reach them eventually_."

"_And what is my mission_?"

"_Reach the Autobots and find a way to contact the military. Tell them about the crash and the Scavengers, let them decide from there_." Hye Kwon stepped beside Gaia, closing the Vault door and locking it. A small program seemed to flash in the corner of the screen, but it moved too fast to read. It all seemed like jumbled numbers anyways.

"_Reset the codes as often as you can, we can't risk me telling them how to get in. I'm only human_." Gaia smiled, which momentarily confused Orion how she could be finding any joy when in her state. It must be painful to even look around. "_Now go, be fast. You have some catching up to do_."

Hye Kwon leaned down, lifting Gaia's arm around her neck and slowly helping her back to a seat in the room. It was metal, but burnt so bad it looked jet black. Gaia relaxed into the chair, seeming to enjoy being able to sit down and rest her legs again.

At this moment, Hye Kwon stopped the recording and the hologram disappeared.

"Captain De Mercurio followed protocol and is stalling the enemy. In the meantime, our orders are to contact a nearby Guardian and request reinforcements." Hye Kwon turned to the two humans were showed no reply to the recording. With their helmets back on and ready to continue with their work, they both nodded.

"What do we need to do?" Sarah asked first, to which Hye Kwon tapped her chest.

"I need to boost my signal, there is a transmission coming from the Guardian Talos who is circling a nearby as part of the Expansion Project." Kwon explained, "I nearly got a mayday through a few hours ago, but since then I've had no such luck in contacting them. They could have pinpointed the source and where we are now, we need to be safe, it is unlikely they were able to do so."

"We need a communications array. Something to get a clear message through." Tristan remembered the arrays on the old ships, they could probably piece one together from scrap... Probably.

"Exactly. We must find suitable parts and equipment." Kwon turned to the Autobots, "However, while we would prefer to do this in the safety of allies, we will not attempt to force ourselves upon our host. It is the decision of the commander of these Autobots whether or not we stay while we build this makeshift array."

Sentinel nodded, "Of course you may reside within our walls. I could not turn you down after this troubling news." Kwon bowed her head in thanks before returning to the humans.

"Time is not on our side, if there is some place we can find these parts or work in security, we would appreciate it." Kwon remembered the outside, it wasn't going to be easy to find the parts they needed.

"Do not concerned yourselves with that. Our engineers will offer any aid you need and if you require supplies, we will send out our scouts to find what you need." Prowl was definitely surprised, if the look of shock wasn't evident enough. Orion was thankful that Sentinel wanted to help now, it took a lot to convince him, but at least they were doing something.

"We are in your debt." Kwon smiled, "We should get to work now. The sooner we reach the military, the better."

"Prowl, give them access to all of our supplies. Wheeljack, Ratchet, take what you need and help them construct their array." The three all began to head out, Prowl doing so reluctantly.

The two humans and the A.I. followed suit, they had a lot of work to do. Sarah barely caught a glance at Orion approaching Sentinel, it looked serious to her.

"It looks as if you were right all along, Orion." Sentinel stated, looking towards the door everyone had left through.

"Not exactly right, Prime. I simply had the chance to learn more, we had not given that same opportunity to you. Though, I am certain, had you have had that same chance, nothing would have changed. If you had known about her before, she may not have ever reached her ship and most likely perished in the ruins." Orion was sad and hated that Sentinel sent Gaia away like he did, but both he and Gaia knew it was the only choice he had.

"Perhaps that is true and keeping me in the dark was the right choice, however, I cannot help but wonder what would have happened had I allowed her to stay with us." Sentinel walked tiredly to a seat nearby the window. Relaxing into it, he thought long and hard about the situation they found themselves in.

"Her intention was to depart when we neared the crash site. That was never a secret." Orion stood in front of him. "You are a wise leader, the best the Autobots have ever had. No matter our choices, our side, or our orders, this would have befallen her."

"And yet, I feel a weight on my shoulders that may not belong there." Sentinel confided with Orion, his processor believing that Gaia's condition, the pain she was enduring was his fault. "I realize now that it does. I made a decision to separate Mercurio from us and it was the wrong decision. I should have endeavored to keep her with us. Knowing that our world, our atmosphere was poison to her."

Orion shook his head, he wanted to spite Sentinel for his choice, but he couldn't. Sentinel did nothing wrong, he is a leader and his first and foremost concern is his people. "Gaia understood exactly why you had to do what you did. She told me that she did not blame you, she held no grudge, and that she would have made the same order."

"Understanding the end decision is not a concern, if she truly is the leader her crew and you say she was, then that is not an issue in the slightest." Sentinel stood, seemingly disappointed in his own actions. "I made a choice and it was the wrong one. There is nothing that will make my casting Mercurio away anything less than a mistake."

Orion felt so many things at once. He cared for his fellow Autobots, he'd happily face the entire Decepticon army if it meant that they would survive. He'd do anything for them, including Sentinel, but seeing his leader, the only online Prime _sulking_.

It was insulting, infuriating, and make his spark ache. It hurt to see his leader so angry with himself, it was a leaders' decision, it may not have been the best one, but it was definitely not the wrong one. They saw no grey area, no third choice, and if there was, it wouldn't matter anyways. What has been done is done, over, in the past.

He couldn't have the Autobots greatest hero, a Prime,_ moping_ about because he didn't like it.

"Then do something." Orion growled and glared at the large mech, a mech who had fought masses of Decepticons and came out on top. A powerful warrior who has never backed now from a fight.

And Orion, the young ex-dockworker who was dragged into this war, was about to teach this warrior about honor.

Sentinel turned to him, confused. He could easily see Orion's distress and anger. "And what do you think I should do?" He humored the smaller red and blue mech. The one he had personally trained for this war.

"You feel like Gaia's fate is your fault?" He stepped up to Prime, "Then mobilize the Autobots, put together a front line and take her back. Show her that you realize your _mistake_ and prove to her that you are worth her forgiveness."

The massive mech returned Orion's glare. His towering frame was no doubt intimidating, but Orion wasn't having any of it. Sentinel remembered swearing on many occasions that when Orion felt passionately about something, anything really, that the young mech was more then willing to fight for whatever it is he felt so strongly about.

Usually it wasn't a good idea to tell Orion otherwise.

Though young and half his size, Orion was still a formidable opponent.

Sentinel also knew that the only reason Orion would talk to him like this (possible insubordination for any other Autobot that ever dared doing so) was only because he had more compassion in his most basic functions then the majority of cybertronians do in their entire bodies.

Orion was a brave mech, ready to fight anyone and inspires the Autobots even more then Prime did.

He nodded, lowering his gaze. "I understand Orion." He smiled calmly, "And perhaps you are onto something."

* * *

**_Ahhh, working with Microsoft Word 2010. A little tricky sometimes, _**_but do point out any mistakes or weird things! I prefer to minimize that stuff so immersion isn't interrupted. :3_


	21. What the Future Holds

_**The Next Life**_

_By Kaimaler_

* * *

_**Well now**, it's been a long while since I did this.  
I don't believe I can provide suitable reasons other than the basic college, work, life, etc. etc.  
So instead, I will reduce this to simply saying... I'm glad to be back, at least, for a while._

**_Review Replies are posted at the bottom of the story, so everyone can get to it quicker. :3_**

* * *

Hye Kwon was surrounded by scraps of metal in a room, wires and tools laid about in meticulous order. In front of her was her project, a way to amplify her communications and, with luck, connect to the military force she heard earlier, on her way to the Autobots.

Sarah and Tristan were incapable of helping her with her work, knowing Hye Kwon preferred to do her work in private, so that she could work faster. Her technological functions were more adept to creating many things like this communications array. Sarah was an explosives expert and Tristan was a well trained infantry man, who usually dealt in heavy weapons.

Him and Sarah got along perfectly, with all the talk of what to blow up next, there was never a dull moment in there conversations.

Sentinel Prime did not know what to do with them, he authorized Kwon to use whatever parts she needed, so long as they were not currently in use with some other piece of equipment. Especially the ones for their defense, for he knew as well as the other Autobots, that the Decepticons were not so easily beaten. They would return and take Sarah's plan of attack against them last time into consideration.

The Autobots kept a steady guard at all times, watching for any sign of an impending attack. There were many stealth mechs with the Decepticons, it would be hard discovering an oncoming siege while they were all holed up in a single tower.

However, this could not be avoided. Taking shelter in one of the tallest towers was the best way to stay well defended, staying on the streets would leave them too open for attack.

The tools supplied to Kwon were a collection from Wheeljack, Ratchet, Ironhide, and, which even surprised Orion, Blurr. Kwon had a few tools already built into her, but some of the metal plates and other equipment were too alien for her to handle with only human designed tools. Wheeljack attempted to tell her what each one did and where each one could come into use, but Kwon was able to scan the metal and identify any purpose she may have for it.

She started work hours ago, Sentinel began planning for any emergency defense of the tower immediately, while the rest waited for news.

Sarah had tended more to Tristan's injuries while Orion stayed with them almost every moment. They were able to rest without being watched, carried rations with them just like Gaia had, and all the Autobots, save for a minority, were entranced by the idea of an alien race in their numbers. It was strange at first for Sarah and Tristan, but they quickly learned to ignore it.

While Kwon worked, and with the two last members of the Escion with the Autobots, Sentinel began to form a plan.

Orion was more than relieved that he'd be able to find Gaia and help her, the damage she had taken from the scavengers was extensive, it looked painful and he knew it was, he wanted nothing more than to stop whatever harm was coming to her.

He'd always had an issue when it came to Gaia, his friend. It figured out right, she held meaning in his life and he respected her. He felt as if he was more with her around, a sense of pride and self-worth that he had not experienced in a long time. She instilled good values and brought out the best in those around her, even with her flaws, Gaia was a remarkable person to him.

Orion was sitting on the edge of his berth, he could not lend anymore aid to those around him currently, so he chose to rest for a moment, to collect himself before he went back out.

And during this break, he felt his processor racing to ideas and actions he never saw himself doing. Gaia was a great Captain, to him and to her crew. He heard from those that were still alive anyways.  
It was unnoticeable, a quiet change he never had before. He felt in a personal way, responsible for someone, for their safety and quality of their life. Gaia was able to care for herself, usually, but until now he never realized how close he allowed himself to get with her, how their few and short talks made him feel more and more like he had to protect something of great value to him.

It didn't take long for him to realize that this _personal value _he felt the need to protect was Gaia herself. It was as if some strange force was driving him to this, he wanted to help her, he would do whatever he could to make sure that she was safe again. At the same time, he knew he could not risk the others out there.

He needed their help, or the human military, in order to save her from the fate it seemed she would face unless something or someone stopped it. The Vault was of extreme importance to humans, containing sensitive information, he knew from Hye Kwon's informational logs from the recorded she played back, that the humans Gaia served with were willing to kill their own if it meant the Vault and it's contents would be untouched.

Even if they had to destroy the information.

There was nothing that Orion would not do to free Gaia from her captors now and if Hye Kwon reached the human military as they planned... this _Guardian _vessel may ruin everything in sight from Gaia, killing her and anyone in the immediate area.

The idea of Gaia dying for the very thing she fought to protect... Orion felt an unfamiliar tightness in his chassis, tenseness of joints, and a strange ache. He knew of something similar, when he was living through the destruction of Cybertron's grand cities and the homes of many a Cybertronian. Before Deceptions and before Autobots.

This was a powerful hurt rather than the slow pain of watching Cybertron fall. The preciseness of this ache in his spark and processor was created by the idea that Gaia would succumb to her wounds or be blown away by this Guardian ship along with the Vault she tried to protect.

He felt an acute pain over the loss of Gaia. It hurt to watch her go, when Sentinel removed her from their company, at least then he thought she was simply leaving them to try and return to her homeworld, to reunite with her own people. It was the same, only this was amplified to such a degree he could not stand by and accept Gaia's demise.

Sarah, Tristan, and Hye Kwon would not either. Sentinel wanted to help her, only he could not send a large group for a rescue mission.

The last battle with the Deceptions was a losing one, the Deceptions had better ground and cover. This time Sentinel could choose the battlefield and the fight may turn into their favor, the only problem was that he needed all the soldiers he could use for this next fight. It would no doubt be on a greater scale than the last one, Megatron would be angry that Sarah and Tristan ruined his chance of pushing the Autobots back while removing a one of the largest bridges with a direct route to Iacon.

It was a tough plan, Sentinel was sparing four Autobots not including Orion, who was leading the group. Sarah and Tristan would follow, but Hye Kwon would stay behind to establish a secure connection with any military signals close enough.

There was another fight coming, Orion didn't know when it would arrive, but it was fast approaching. Megatron would not let this fight go, he almost won this battle; the Autobot loss would have been worse had Sarah not stepped in with her last moment explosive plan. To retaliate, Megatron would lead the Deceptions around through the nearest path to reach the Autobots before they fortified the area too much for him to fight against.

They knew the streets he could arrive by, it would only be a few more hours before the Deceptions showed and their forces built up around them.

From what Orion knew, a number of Autobots were already out there trying to build enough protection in the area so that they would have the upper hand and the Deceptions would be forced to retreat. For a time of course, before the Autobots had to plan an offensive attack, for the first time in a very long time.

Orion's vents whirred, amused. He was sure Prowl had all but forgotten how to plan an offensive strike. They had been on the defensive so long, worrying about scouting plans, protection, shielding; they were on the losing side of this war for a long while. Orion had not lead a strike team since one of the first days he joined the Autobots.

Megatron revealed his Deceptions in greater numbers than any of the councilors, to-be Autobots, soldiers, or even the Prime ever believed he had. The army was vast and powerful, built from the fighting rings that Orion remembered hearing about. Mechs that learned how to fight in the most primal of ways and somehow it worked, they fought with tactical grace and the Decepticons have an excellent leader, but not much military understanding.

With Cybertron wrecked from the tallest tower to the lowest street, Orion had grown so used to the sight of the darkened city he never believed he would see it whole again, back to the way it had been with lights, life, and busy streets.

And yet, with Gaia so hurt, possibly dying, all Orion could think about was saving her from the torture she suffers. She is a strong person, clearly capable of taking the pain inflicted upon her and still able to fight back. Hye Kwon's communication skills might be the one thing that saves her, Sarah, Tristan, and Gaia... If they could reach the injured Captain in time.

He did not care the extent of her injuries, only that he could bring her out of it and have her continue on living, somewhere, even if he was not around to see her survive the ordeals. Orion had to help her, he was driven to protect her now, the desire to have her safe again was overwhelming and demanding.

Orion laid back on his berth, remembering the few moments they had to themselves. Private moments that he could simply enjoy her presence and admire what made her physically and mentally different than any other Cybertronian he had ever met. She is human of course, but her strength and commanding aura made him want to be around her.

His processor was loud in his metal frame, swallowing every other thought he had whole. Orion could not distract himself from Gaia, she needed him now and he had to wait. Leaving the tower with his strike team now would never lead to their success. The Decepticon army was out there, heading towards them. The Autobots had to spot them before Orion and the others could go to find her.

They would have to fight their way out, but Orion knew it was worth it. The help she gave them, the way she spoke to them all; he knew it was not very much and yet, to him, it was more than he had seen since the old days when Cybertron was peaceful.

Sentinel Prime was the only example of great leadership, loyalty to the end degree, and a power he used only for the good of his world and its people. These traits reminded him much of Gaia, she didn't have the same power in strength as Sentinel did. Yet her charisma, leadership, and good will was enough to make him stand and fight again, with the same virility he did when he first began fighting.

She was refreshing, lively, and she was in his every though now. He did not understand why all of a sudden she was in the forefront of his processor at this time. With the Decepticons closing in, the battle could almost be an assured victory for the Autobots, and having discovered a new alien specie; Gaia was the only thing he wanted to see again. Everything paled in comparison.

He would make it to her in time, he would give anything to have her with him again. If only to be shielded from those that would do her harm.

This was a completely new experience for Orion, he had a relationship with a femme in the past, but almost all the femmes were gone now... most fell to Megatron and his Decepticons. No one knew if others survived elsewhere, that maybe some lived somewhere far away, or took some of the old ships off world. Orion knew that there were many ships built just before the war started that was capable of traveling short distances in space or supporting life for a long while.

No way they could still live on those ships if they had not found a new home or temporary world to stay on. The Decepticons also had space faring ships, although, no one had ever seen them launch. Iacon had a massive system for monitoring any devices or vessels that had enough power to leave Cybertron's atmosphere.

Regardless of Orion's musings, he had to recharge for now. It had been too long since his last good recharge, he had done what he could at the time, all he could do now is charge up and wait.

* * *

The booming system of a gigantic ship drifted by in the silence of space, the scene disrupted only by a small ship heading in to dock with the much larger ship.

Four decorated uniforms stood at the walkway of the bridge while dozens of personnel ran various parts of the ship all in the same place. The CIC ran smoothly, everyone at their posts on time, working together, and the commanders, leaders of the vessel, discussed a strange and confusing message they received only hours ago.

"Lieutenant General, there's is no chance this is coincidence." A tall, broad shouldered, blonde man spoke. He wore one of the uniforms adorned in medals. "It's too close to where the last responder alert came in. If there's a chance... we should look into it."

"I am aware, Colonel." An older man answered back, with salt and pepper hair, with a face scarred by war. "Do we know what the message says yet?"

A woman with cropped red hair stepped forward, saluting with her left arm, being that the right one was missing. "Sir, we do not know exactly. We have been able to decipher more in the last few hours of when we received it."

"And what does it say?"

"We have made out a name." The woman pulled up a piece of paper from her pocket, "Hye Kwon. It isn't a full name, there is no military rank from the message as far as we know." The paper was a scribbled name from their rush to clear up the static message. Once they got the name, the communications officer, the woman who stood before the four decorated officers now, hurried to deliver the news.

"Hye Kwon?" Another man spoke up, not the Colonel, but a Brigadier General. "I know that name. It wouldn't have a rank of any form; Hye Kwon was the name given to the Corsair Escion's on board A.I. system." His surprise was clear, he had not expected to find their target.

"Then we're on the right track, right sir?" The communications officer asked, eager to find what they had been sent out to find.

The Lieutenant General nodded, looking out the massive bay window that arched around the giant room, displaying space before it. Planets could barely be sen in the distance, but the rest was the blackness of space and the faint light of the stars, along with even more planets out in other solar systems. It seemed like they would never find their objective, very few ships that were lost in uncharted space were ever recovered.

"With luck, Officer." She grinned at him, "You are dismissed. See if you can make sense of anything else from that message and report back to me if and when you do."

She saluted him again, then leaving the higher ranking officer's to talk.

There was not much being said, the four were rather quiet after hearing that the Escion's A.I. had made contact of some form. They did not know much beyond that, but they were all hoping to come up with an answer soon.

"Gentlemen," A dark haired woman spoke up, "I believe it's time to begin discussing what we should do with this information. The Corsair's Escion's A.I. is still alive, functioning enough to send out a mayday. They are obviously not capable of returning to the fleet; we must prepare for the worst."

"I will not act on feeling, Major." The Lieutenant General replied quickly. "If we do find the Corsair Escion and its vault is threatened, we will do what we must. We will try to make contact before destroying the vault. I do not want to murder the Escion's crew unless I know that the vault must be destroyed immediately. Everyone aboard the Corsairs' know what to except in these events."

"Of course, sir." The Major stepped off the topic, the destruction of the vault would be left until they know the severity of the situation.

The Colonel cleared his throat to get all of the officers attention. When they all looked to him, he took a deep breath. "Sir, I am familiar with the Escion's crew; I know some of them and their Captain. She wouldn't let the vault get into such bad shape unless..."

"Unless she was dead?" The Lieutenant General turned to face his Colonel, who nodded in response. "I am aware of Captain Mercurio's abilities, she is a capable and devoted Captain who would rather die than risk her crew. She knows the gravity of any circumstance that would lead to a vault falling into enemy hands. If anyone knows this ship went down, _who _went down; I would be more worried about who would come for the Captain of the crew, rather than the vault."

The other three leaders of the ship looked at each other, confused. "Um, with all due respect sir... What do you mean?"

He grinned, "Captain Gaia De Mercurio almost has more _personal_ enemies than the majority of people in this galaxy. There are many, many people out there who want to get their hands, claws, or _whatever _on her. She's almost as valuable as the contents within their vault." The Lieutenant General brought up his left arm, strapped to it was a holo-projector that emitted the holographic images of persons affiliated with Gaia.

"These are some of her enemies, people she has either put behind bars, or _wronged _in some way. People who want her head." He pulled through the list before picking a name at random.

"This is Hi'uri, a woman from the Centurion realms, she lives with the A.I. population as one of the few cyborgs around." He pulled up a list in front of the image, "Her crimes include over two-hundred and fifty-six murders, seventy-nine people who survived her were hospitalized, most of them vegetables now. That's only some of the things we could pin on her. She leads a small group of synthetics, A.I.'s, and humans in an organization she calls _The Divine._ Believing something about how cybernetic, cyborgs, or A.I.'s are the future of the human race."

"How is she not in prison, sir?" The Major asked, inspecting the partly robotic woman projected on the Lieutenant General's arm.

"It's nearly impossible to get close enough to her to arrest her. Cyborg Major, usually means that no average human being can fight her hand to hand. She's killed everyone who has attempted to arrest her, broken the arms of the rest, but let them live. Not to mention she primarily functions inside the... rebellious sections of the A.I. controlled worlds. Can't get to her without starting a riot."

The Colonel had experienced one of the A.I. planets, but had not been there long enough to really see the diversity of the rebellious citizens. "The A.I. planets are still owned and allied to the UN, they are deeply integrated into human law. Why not have her and known advocates extradited?"

"They can't remove a religious symbol." The officer's sighed collectively, "The rebels hail Hi'uri as some kind of a god-send. A hybrid of human-tech that they see as a more perfect being to replace humans, eventually, replacing the cyborgs with full bio-organic lifeforms. We weren't able to convict her before she disappeared on the A.I. planets."

"So why does she hate Captain Mercurio?" The Colonel knew how easy it was for any cybernetic criminal to escape to those worlds, it wasn't surprising that she wasn't in jail now.

"The Captain arrested Hi'uri's wife and brother. After beating Hi'uri without a weapon." The three officer's stared at the Lieutenant General. "Mercurio's a smart woman, she was able to use Hi'uri's systems against her. Being an ally of the ruling system on the two A.I. planets, Mercurio learned about the tech capable of being implanted into a human body. She learned it and how to beat it. It was a humiliating defeat for the so-called cyborg-god."

"I can imagine... You think she'd come after Captain Mercurio if she found out the Escion had crashed?" The Lieutenant General closed the holo projector.

"Absolutely. She's been hell bent on getting her revenge, if Mercurio's ship is down, I'll bet you Hi'uri and Mercurio's other enemies will race to get here." He answered smoothly, without a shadow of a doubt. The Lieutenant General knew the Captain and the Corsair Escion well enough, having met the Captain a few times in the past.

"Then... We have to find her... fast." The Colonel felt the urgency to a higher extreme, he wanted to find the ship and its crew as much as the next person; the Corsair Escion was legendary. The only difference now was that he understood what Mercurio's work means.

"That's what I've been thinking. Our Communication experts have been working around the clock to find out what that message means. If we can find out what it is, if it truly is the crew of the Corsair Escion, and they are alive... we may have to fight to reach them. We will have to find out where they are first of course."

The Colonel and Major shared a look in between them, "What should we do until then, sir? We're not trained in communications. I assume we have all of the people who are capable of these skills already working on it."

"Yes; however, I called in a specialist in these fields." The Lieutenant General gestured back down the large walkway, a woman stood on the other side, having just entered the room. "There's no one better."

"Hello, soldiers." The woman entered, the escorts leaving back the way they came.

The woman wore tailored clothing, a style not usually seen around the higher class. The woman was obviously well off, her appearance, her clothing, and the tools she carried with her all of top quality materials and jewels. On some parts of her body were golden metals, that were not part of a design or fashion, but rather part of her own body.

"Well, I'll be damned..." The Major smiled, "Never thought I'd see you on a military ship again."

The woman shrugged, "What can I say? I love a man in a uniform, I'm sure every woman does." She approached the officers, her heels clicking on the metal walkway. She purposefully walked with a sway, confident and her body language giving a sense of self-worth. "I came here as a favor for a certain Lieutenant General."

"When did you come aboard?" The Colonel knew the woman, simply through reputation. The Lieutenant General had some kind of connection to the sharply dressed woman.

"Just a few moments ago actually, we docked a little while ago... But I wanted to stop for some snacks, I was _so _hungry after that trip and all we had to eat was that shitty packaged rations. I hate those things." She shuddered, imitating a gagging sound. "So... Now that I am here... what exactly will I be doing here?"

"Glad you asked, Ma'am." The Lieutenant General offered his arm to her. She simply smiled and accepted. "There is a story here, it's in pieces, but we do need your help, if you'd be so kind." He walked her away from the large window, the officer's following behind them.

"I came here, didn't I?"

* * *

"Sentinel! I see a Decepticon!"

The reaction was immediate, the Autobots were up and ready for action. Sentinel was on a balcony with Prowl, Kup, and Ironhide by him. "How many do you see?" The air was tense, they were waiting for a battle to surge from the towers around them. With the Decepticons approaching they all had to be warmed up and ready to fight again.

The sentry had not answered quickly, which made the Autobots all the more anxious. "I see two scouts..."

"Can you identify the Decepticons?" Many of the Decepticons could not be named by appearance; however, knowing that Megatron would be leading this coming battle, if the last one was any indication, than it may be possible to tell what they were planning by who they were sending out.

"Primus, it's Skywarp and Thundercracker! Seeker scouts!"

This announcement caused all the Autobots to begin talking within themselves. The two seekers were well known, part of Megatron's personal fleet and intelligence agents. Only... there were three, not two.

"Camshaft, do you see the other Seeker?" Sentinel didn't want the other Seeker to get too close to inspect their defenses, especially being that the last Seeker, the one Camshaft had not reported seeing yet, was their leader. Second only to Megatron himself. The last Seeker was agile and very clever, if he got passed their sentries, he could change this battle for the Autobots.

"No Prime, I do not see him." Camshaft was watching the other two Seekers scanning around, it seemed they were on recon rather than scouting out the Autobots tower. They would not cross too close to the Autobots, this was preparation, not the sign of the oncoming battle.

Prowl stepped up to Sentinel, "We have to find him, the Seeker trio do not go anywhere alone. He will be near." Sentinel nodded once, this was not going to be hard to find him, the Seekers were not stealth mechs, they were aerial support in battles, occasionally functioned as scouts, rescue teams, and were almost always with Megatron or near him, when they were not, it meant he was arriving soon.

They were right to believe Megatron was on his way with an army, this was a sure sign. Megatron would know this, using his personal Seekers as a form of intimidation. There was not many mechs around that could defeat Megatron, everyone believed that Sentinel might be that one mech they needed to turn the tides of this war once and for all.

"Camshaft, keep your helm down. They will not being attacking soon, we must find the last Seeker though." Sentinel broadcast the message to the other sentries, hoping that they would begin looking for the Seeker and may be able to report a sighting.

"We will have to begin our defenses. They may choose to attack before we have a chance to ready our front." Prowl was the Autobots tactician, his directive was to make sure the battle went well, as well as any battle could go, so that the Autobots come back from it alive.

"Prime! I see him! He is heading-_bzzt!_" Everyone was alarmed, it was another sentry, not Camshaft, that just was interrupted.

"Mirage?" Prowl tried to contact the sentry, "Are you there? Mirage, are you functional?" The Autobots were waiting to hear from their fellow Autobot.

There was nothing they could do immediately, the sentries were not spread out too far and Mirage's message went out to the sentries and the Autobots at the tower. If someone was able to see Mirage, they may be able to tell if he was still online. They did understand his message though, and the Autobots were arming themselves.

"We have to stop him from getting too close, we do not want him getting inside our walls. Who knows what damage he will do." Prowl turned around, facing the Autobots behind them. "First team, five on the roof. Others on the balconies around the tower; Ironhide will assign everyone to their duties. Make it fast, we may not have much time."

Ironhide stepped in, taking over from Prowl's instructions.

"Sentinel," Kup approached the watchful leader, "Mirage was a ground sentry... He started his walk on the streets, then the towers. It may not be a Seeker who attacked him."

Sentinel gave Kup a questioning look, "His goal was to reach the top of the old factory nearby. It may not be a high roof, yet the Seekers may be using the cover of the towers to make their approach."

"I know, just saying that... He may not have made it to the factory when he was attacked. It wasn't a short walk and he didn't have a partner to follow him on the way, he was meeting up with Hound at the factory. If Mirage was attacked, Hound must have been too, otherwise, I believe we would've gotten Mirage's message and one from Hound." Sentinel waved Prowl over quickly, he knew what Kup was saying now.

They could have two potentially lost Autobots and there was something that was missing.

"Yes Prime?" Sentinel pointed out through the towers, "Mirage was taking a path on an open street, because of his stealth capabilities he could do so without being seen." He then redirected to point towards a much denser part of the towers, "Hound was heading through the old compounds, through the ruins, where he would have taken a bridge into the factory. Where the two would have met each other on the way up the factory."

Prowl caught on, "We have not received any transmissions from Hound..." He cursed, "We have to send someone after them... We cannot weaken our security detail here, we have to repurpose some of the sentries if we want to find either of them."

"Do it, find Mirage and Hound, quickly." Sentinel gave the order and Prowl was on the comms.

"We need speedy rescue, Bluestreak, Blurr, team up and find Hound and Mirage at the factory. Stay together, watch each others backs, and check down their paths to the factory if they are not in the factory. I stress to you, to stay together. We believe one of Megatron's Seekers may be there." The comms cracked to life, "You got it, Prowl. We'll be there and back in a flash!"

"Camshaft, Cliffjumper, keep an eye on them from the towers you are in. Rest of the sentries watch those other Seekers and keep ready for Decepticons." Prowls vents hummed as he began to worry about the sentries out there, he did not want to lose anyone before the battle even started.

"I see them, we will watch their backs." The comms went dead.

They just had to wait now and see if Bluestreak and Blurr could find the two Autobots that were not reporting in. There is a Decepticon out there that was not accounted for, which made everything all the more dangerous. They had to get their sights on the Decepticon, to make sure their plans were not for nothing.

The Autobots had the high ground for the upcoming fight, they would have a much better chance of being the victors without any extenuating circumstances like Sarah and Tristan. The Decepticons would have a tougher time resisting Autobot advances, the fight would be brutal with Megatron personally joining with his soldiers.

Sentinel would be joining his own on the field too if Megatron was truly going to be leading the assault. The Decepticon leader was too much for his Autobots to handle, he had to guide this battle and he expected this fight to be close combat being that the position of the towers, the streets, would make long range weapons near useless.

Cover fire was guaranteed, some parts of the field they would be on were open enough to use their sidearms, rifles, and cannons; the rest was too blocked that using ranged weaponry would not get them far.

The Autobots all had a melee weapon with them, if they were not built with one, they were granted access to the armory and they chose the weapon they knew how to use or could learn quickly.

"I found Mirage!" Blurr announced, "Is he online, Blurr?" They did not want to lose anyone, not so soon.

There was some static for a moment, until the comms clicked back on. "He's fine! Someone just dropped a crate on his helm; the cord that held it was cut. Mirage is online and functional, just shorted from the blow."

There was a collective sigh of relief, the Autobots glad that Mirage was not lost to them. "Have you found Hound yet?"

"Not so far, we saw Mirage first and headed here fast as we could. We're about to head to see where Hound is now." Blurr answered, the obvious sound of effort going into lifting Mirage who was knocked out.

"Keep it up you two."

Sentinel turned to face the Autobots behind him, just in time to see Orion shifting his way through them all. He was ready to move, to cut a line through the Decepticons, and make his way to the crash site of the Corsair Escion. If he could, he would return to the Autobots with Gaia and prepare for the arrival of any human ships, since Hye Kwon was still working on the array and was apparently making progress.

"Orion," He addressed once Orion stood before him, "You must be ready to move on my mark. When the Decepticons attack, I will meet Megatron in battle. You and your team will make a clear way through the red marked tower on the right of the plaza; with that done, you will leave the area as you will not be able to return the way you came. You know where to go after that."

Orion nodded in confirmation, "Will Blurr be back in time?"

Sentinel looked to Prowl for an answer, "The moment they find Hound, I will call Blurr back to the tower. He will make it in time, no worries about that." Blurr was the fastest living Cybertronian, he would not miss the mark when Orion and the team had to move out.

"As I said, on my command, you begin your attack. I will lead the Autobots into battle this time, I will be at the head of the front. Megatron will most likely be at the front of his army as well and, if he is not, he will have to join the fray when I step in." Sentinel was going to lead just like he had done a long time ago, when the battles were fought with the intent to stop the Decepticon forces, not just interrupt them.

It had been so long since the Autobots had a chance to do as much damage as they could right now. It was an opportunity that they did not want to miss, no matter the cost. If Sentinel went into battle with Megatron face to face, no rifles or soldiers between them, than the Autobots and Decepticons would be weighing the entire battle on which one of them walked away from the fight.

This was a battle to the end, neither of their factions would become involved and it would either leave the Autobots without a Prime, for the first time, or relieve the Decepticons of their greatest leader; the one responsible for all of their successes. This could be the Autobots' last chance to stop the Decepticons, perhaps not permanently, but enough to put them on the retreat.

They were all anxious, excited, and nervous about the upcoming battle. So much was riding on it, relying on the strength of their Prime and for Megatron's failure.

Though they all know Megatron pushed his Decepticons to the extreme, until they performed the way he wanted or else suffer his ideas of consequence for not reaching his expectations.

Sentinel did not give them all a great speech this time, they all knew what they had to do. What this battle could mean to the Autobots, how it could change their lives and the lives of the rest of Cybertronians everywhere.

Instead of telling them this, he overlooked his mechs, the Autobots as a whole, and began to march them down the tower. It was time to take their positions and ready themselves for the onslaught of the Decepticon forces; Megatron would not make this easy. Their last battle was cut short, angering the Decepticon leader who knows he was going to win that fight.

This field, the one they would fight on now, was in great favor to the Autobots. High ground, a lot of cover for the Autobots, and almost no support for the Decepticons. The Autobot riflemechs would begin their assault by opening ranged fire on the approaching Decepticons, when they were too close, the Autobots would leave guns for close range weaponry and hold off the Decepticons while Sentinel dealt with Megatron; if he dared to appear.

Sentinel had no reason to believe he would not appear for this battle. It was too severe, the risk too great, and with the signs, the Seekers, the battlefield being cut off, they were all assured that he would stand on this field with his Decepticons. He never joined the battles much in the past as he never had to, the Decepticons were more than capable of fending off the Autobots if the sign of their overwhelming success is any sign of that.

Once they reached the main street, Autobots began filing into all signs of cover, the rest forming a uniform line behind Sentinel. They knew the Decepticons would be there soon enough, they simply had to wait now.

Orion had his team ready, with the exception of Blurr who was still searching for Hound with Bluestreak. They were going to use Blurr's speed against the scavengers Sarah and Tristan warned them about. Blurr would arrive before they did, scout the place out, and return with details about the scavenger's defenses and how many people they have.

"We found Hound!" The announcement felt like a great release, "He's not offlined, just got hit hard. Figure one of the Seekers got him before he got to the factory."

"Good work, bring them back Bluestreak and Blurr; we are expecting Decepticon company very soon." Prowl was near Sentinel, for the first time he would not be standing with his leader in battle or in command. He had not even fought a Decepticon for some time, knowing that his greatest skill was off the battlefield.

Time was flying by as they listening for the coming storm. All until Bluestreak and Blurr arrived with Hound and Mirage, the latter of the two just becoming aware again.

"Mirage," Sentinel watched closely as Blurr set him on his feet, he was unsteady at first, but shook his helm and regained his balance. "Are you unharmed?"

"I'm fine, Prime. A little shaken is all... It was Starscream, he showed up out of no where!" Mirage exclaimed, scratching his metal hand on his helm where it had been hit. "It was surprising Prime! I mean, he didn't come from the air! Camshaft said he saw two of the Seekers and I was watching the skies, but Starscream- He was walking."

"A Seeker taking to the ground? Especially one as egotistical about his flying as Starscream." Prowl scoffed, he knew Mirage must have been right, but he could not reason why Starscream, one of Megatron's greatest warriors who doubled as his best Seeker, would take the more dangerous path; the one covered by Autobots.

A Seeker's flight was their strength, there was not many flight capable mechs out there anymore so the Seekers were a great power on the Decepticon faction. The best fliers around served Megatron, it was an Autobot weakness and they all knew it.

This is why sentry or scouts on the towers were so important, the Seekers could come in at any time if they did not have a way to resist or spot incoming aerial strikes.

"That's what I was thinking!" Mirage agreed, he had not seen the attack coming. He could not figure out why Starscream would risk so much, what was important enough to take a ground path. He was not a stealth mech, he would not be able to sneak behind enemy lines and not get caught. There was a reason he was around and no one had any idea why.

Hound regained himself as well, but did so faster and alert. "Whoa-! It was Starscream!" He shook his helm, feeling the dent in his helm like Mirage did. "Ow- Primus that hurt!"

Blurr smiled and patted Hound on the back. "Welcome back, Hound. And yeah, we know, Starscream decided to drop by... or... walk by." He laughed as the dark green mech elbowed the speed mech. "I figure you had caught on. I do not know what he wants, but he came fast and left in a hurry."

Sentinel, contemplating this new information, looked towards the open area where the Autobot front was pointing towards and took a long look in the distance, at the edge of a large structure long since collapsed.

Decepticons could be seen marching in. "Autobots! Form up! Decepticons incoming!" Sentinel announced and the Autobots reacted immediately, rushing to line in behind Sentinel while others took cover and aimed their rifles. It was time to fight again, only this time, they had a chance to win. To emerge from the other side with more than they took in.

"Prime, we will wait inside the West tower, when you are ready, we will break the Decepticon lines." Orion shared one last moment with Sentinel before the battle, the two shaking hands. "In case this does not go well... I feel as though I must thank you for allowing me to do this, I did not expect-"

Sentinel held a hand up, "I understand Orion. Mercurio is a good femme, alien, Cybertronian, or anything she might be a part of. I wish I had not sent her away, that I had known what I know now. I cannot change the past; however, I can try to make up for a mistake I made. Giving you a chance to find her, stop whatever harm has come to her... When she returns, online, I will know that I have done the right thing."

"I will bring her back." Orion glanced to the quickly approaching Decepticon army, "I must go to my post, I hope this plan works. We will do our best."

"I know you will do well, Orion." Sentinel gave Orion a smile he had not seen since the war started and he recruited Orion into the Autobot ranks. "You have always served the Autobots well and any being who needed your help. Your kindness, compassion, and determination have kept many of our fellows fighting. The morale you gave us all will see us through this battle, as it has done in the past."

Orion felt prideful and happily surprised by Sentinel's comment. "I... do not know what to say, Prime. Thank you, that means a lot to me."

"You mean a lot to the Autobots, they look to me for leadership. They look to you for the courage and inspiration to follow my lead." Sentinel grasped Orion's shoulder, "Come back to us, the Autobots need you. I need you. I know this is important to you, Mercurio is important to you. All I want is to see you return, unharmed. I do not believe we all could be as great a force without your spark with us."

"Prime!" Prowl called, interrupting the two mechs. Orion had to hurry to his position now, Sentinel saw him off before answering Prowl. When he stepped beside Prowl, the mech pointed towards the Decepticons. "He is coming."

Sentinel focused on the Decepticon lines and he saw a large figure leading them, a gunmetal and dark grey mech. It was Megatron, he was leading his Decepticons like Sentinel lead his Autobots. They were going to start the battle fighting and end it as such; Megatron knew what he could do, how powerful he was alone. From this, it was clear to see that Megatron was confident he could defeat Sentinel Prime in combat.

This was slightly unnerving to the Autobots, sending a quite intimidating message to their ranks. Worried, but steeled to the battle, the Autobots and Sentinel stood fast, ready for anything.

The Autobots remained where they were, the noise of the Decepticons march was shaking the rubble at their feet.

Orion rejoined his team in the tower, thinking on what Sentinel had said to him. He fully intended to return, with Gaia and his team. Plans almost never went exactly how many expected them to go, they did not even have an idea of the strength of the scavengers. Orion knew that they must not be very military minded from what Gaia had told him before, but none of them knew what human weaponry brought.

She once spoke of the destruction of human technology, the ability of their weapons, and a desperate human's fear leading to destruction of their enemies. He did not want any of his team harmed during this mission, even though that was almost never unavoidable. Someone would be wounded and they were prepared to handle that.

"Orion," Sideswipe came up behind the red and blue mech. "When do we move?"

Orion pointed at the top of the tower across from them, in between the Decepticons and the Autobots. "Camshaft will fire a flare, it will signal the change in the battle. When Autobots that are at a range change to close combat and when we have the room to create a hole in the Decepticon lines. It will destroy their formation and we will be able to flank them."

"Are we staying for the battle?" Sunstreaker could see Megatron in the distance, the tensity between the two leaders. "We should be there."

"This was a volunteer mission, you could stay." Orion gave Sunny a curious look. "We will not be here for the fight, we must hurry to our destination if we are to make it in time."

Sunstreaker shrugged, "I know, I am only coming because Sideswipe is." His brother grinned at him. "Fighting a new enemy, it will definitely test our ability to adapt, brother." Sunstreaker rolled his optics, he was vain and his brother is competitive. The two made a formidable team when fighting greater numbers.

"When the signal lights, we will have to move fast. Clear out any Decepticon in our way, letting the others through to ruin the Decepticon forces. Megatron made his line out of larger mechs; we actually have working processors though. We can do this, fast and easy." Orion could see the amount of Decepticons Megatron brought with him. The largest in front, to break Autobot ranks.

"Speed is what I'm known for," Blurr chuckled, "We'll have those Decepticons parted and be on our way before you know it!"

"That is what I am hoping for." Orion was glad his team seemed so sure of their success, the three that had spoken up anyways. Hoist and Trailbreaker had not interacted with Gaia very much, which is why, when the two of them volunteered, surprised Orion. He would not say anything about it, he needed the help and Sentinel permitted five Autobots that chose to go.

"Just say when and we will be ready, Orion." Hoist actually spoke, patting the mech on the back. "We all wanted to come and we are sticking to it. No matter what."

Orion gave him a thankful smile before refocusing on the incoming Decepticon army.

Regardless of what he was trying to distract himself with, Orion could only think of Gaia now. He had to go to her, had to help her. Sentinel knew what it meant to Orion and even regretted his decision to send Gaia away. He knew it to be right at the time, but he could not allow the choice to result in Gaia's death. From what Hye Kwon had shown them, it was not long until it was too late.

Orion was begging Primus that she was alive, that he would reach her in time to stop her pain and rescue her from the fate she had resigned herself to. He could not lose her so close to when she could have been saved; Hye Kwon's work on the array would work and her people would come. Gaia was so close, so very close it was driving Orion mad. He could not stand it.

The Autobots with him were going to help him save her, fight the scavengers; they were risking themselves for someone they barely knew. He did not understand why, what convinced them to join him.

He could not question them when he needed them so badly though. If everything worked out, he would ask them then and see what convinced them to do such a thing. Their lives were at risk against an unknown enemy; it is one of the worst situations to be in.

As they all grew quiet, the Decepticons came to a halt.

It was deathly silent, the Autobots and Decepticons waited as their respective leaders approached each other between their lines. Sentinel and Megatron stood face to face, neither one of them have been in the same place at the same time since the war began. This moment would not be quickly forgotten by either faction.

"Megatron, it has been too long." Sentinel respected his enemy, even though Megatron's actions and crimes were grave. He knew the prowess the mech held and knew not to grow overconfident.

"Sentinel Prime," The sharp, booming voice of the Decepticon leader addressed the great Prime. "We're finally here... The last place you die and the last thing your precious Autobots will ever see."

Sarah and Tristan were behind Orion, staring wide eyed at the Decepticons. They were all too happy to escape from their clutches; seeing them again was discomforting as it was for the rest of the Autobots.

"We will see, Megatron." Sentinel challenged the great mech, whose Decepticons appeared just as twisted as their leader. The sight was something to behold, even though it was not a sight Sentinel wished to see.

"I believe we will." The Decepticon leader was smug, laughing at Prime's cautiousness.

Megatron quickly glanced behind him, seeing all of his Decepticons aching to fight. The excitement leading up to this moment put everyone on edge, yet the Decepticons seemed more pleased to face this threat than the Autobots did; who were resolute to the battle and revering the powerful mechs before them. The lines charged forth with a simple movement.

Megatron swung his blade at Sentinel, who blocked it with his own. "Decepticons! Attack!"

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**Deziecho-34:**

_I replied to your review personally because of the review's depth and how impressed I was someone was so happy with my story, while also looking for the meaning inside it. I feel I should thank you again, this chapter took a long time to write and... it may be crap, I hope it isn't! I hope I meet any and all expectations. I hope I can surpass them, simply because your review made me want to write better...  
It's been a while since I wrote for this story, so I admit my skills are probably duller than what you and the other readers will be used to, but I felt the need to write this chapter and progress the story.  
Anyways, thank you so much and I hope you enjoy!_

**TheAwesome101:**

_WISH GRANTED! :D_

**Rockubyebaby:**

_No worries, I failed to update on a more regular schedule so... it's all good. :3_

**Xireana Zetsubou:**

_I didn't update soon enough, while I am sorry, I have finally published this chapter and it was exhausting to write again. I forgot how difficult this story can be to write for. xD_

_**I do not know what other reviews were submitted since I updated, these are all the reviews for the PREVIOUS chapter which is my only real way of telling who reviewed and who I need to reply to.  
If I have missed your review, I apologize and will try to do so next time. :3**_


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